#hold on...spock gets tied up Does He Not

[bedforddanes75]

this is the second show ive watched that is SURPRISINGLY gay where the fittest guy ever gets undressed and tied up

[teiasviago]

mulder being a stay at home dad and actually raising william would have healed him

Literally! The heart of The X-Files was always family. Mulder’s whole journey in the show was accepting that Sam’s disappearance wasn’t his fault. Not that he ever believed that Sam being abducted was his fault, but he believed that he was guilty of not doing his duty as her older brother to protect her. He does the same thing with Scully’s abduction and the painful events thereafter, blaming himself for not saving her from Duane Barry, for not preventing her cancer, for not finding a cure for Emily.

Scully becomes his family, and he protects her with the same zeal as he does Sam: “Nothing else matters to me,” from the pilot when he’s saying it about uncovering government secrets to find Sam; and then, “Nothing else matters to me now,” from that deleted scene from “The Red and the Black” when he’s telling Scully that his priority is figuring out why abductees are being summoned places by their chips—to protect Scully.

He intended to spend his whole life looking for what happened to Sam, would martyr himself for the cause if he had to because the only thing that ever mattered to him after her abduction was being an older brother. He shifts his commitments to be tied between Sam and Scully, because they’re partners in the professional, platonic, and romantic sense of the word.

Becoming a father was the most natural conclusion of his character arc. I believe that’s why it works so well for Scully to end up wanting kids, too. In Mulder’s quest to “make up” for failing as an older brother, he punished himself with shallow relationships like with Diana, Phoebe, and Kristen. His parents were already wallowing in their own misery and self-pity/self-flagellation, so they were of no help. Scully was the first person to tell him that his wants and desires mattered, that he deserved happiness—getting out of the car. She doesn’t just say that because it’s what she wants, of course; she wouldn’t keep begging him if she didn’t understand that Mulder wanted it, too.

And when he finally accepts that he needs to let Sam go, stop focusing on walking into that room every day—let Scully hold his hand as she goes there with him and guide him back out—he’s free to enjoy the bond he’s forged with her. Free to want a family and want an end to their work, which by necessity requires self-sacrifice. Mulder was never really married to the work, he was sacrificing himself on the blade of it, waiting either for the truth to come to him through all the pain or to die first.

He doesn’t want a kid to come between them, doesn’t want them to forget each other and stop caring enough about each other, because he knows what it’s like to have a dysfunctional family—to have a mother that’s not there for you like you need them to be and a father that’s not there for you like you need them to be. He doesn’t want a baby to be the thing that finally breaks them, makes her leave him behind so he’s all alone again like he was at twelve in the room he spent so much of his life walking into over and over.

He would’ve loved to be a stay-at-home dad, reveling in the normalcy of domestic life. Staying up with Will to feed him at two in the morning with the TV on low, knowing that it wasn’t all in vain—that better things will come if you have the strength to believe in them. Strapping Will to his chest to surprise Scully at work, dressing him up as Spock for his first Halloween, celebrating New Year’s at the volume of a mouse with the TV all the way down so they don’t wake him up…

It’s so painful to watch him lose people over and over again because what is he if not a brother? A son? A father? A partner? Scully made him whole because she tells him that no matter how his life changes—no matter the people that he loses and the relationships that fall apart—he will always be his sister’s brother and his parents’ son and their son’s father and her partner. He will always matter. He doesn’t have to prove himself, he can just be.

When all the dressings of the show are stripped away, Fox Mulder is a family man. He would’ve been so happy to stay home with William and live a fulfilling life that way. Really fucking sucks that the show never so much as acknowledged that. But that’s what the fic is for!

[zahri-melitor]

I am FORGING ONWARDS, given I'm down to 3 more Holiday Specials to go, then getting back to this year's Santa story.

Next up is 'Tis the Season to be Freezin' (2021)

Window Shopping - Robin and Mr Freeze. I finally get a new Tim story in a Holiday Special and it has to be BTAS!Tim. Anyway Tim goes to buy Bruce's christmas present from a not-at-all suspicious shopkeeper who mysteriously has gifts nobody else does:

Interesting beard, sir, as is that Spock in command yellow holding a lightsaber.

Only to be interrupted by Mr Freeze freezing Old Gotham Square during an oncoming blizzard so he could reminisce about something good from his childhood. Tim talks Victor down and gets him back to Arkham, then we get to see the Christmas presents he's giving.

The Syphoning - Vixen and the Super-Pets. Fun Mari story! Penguin's captured the Super-Pets and is trying to steal their powers and mind control them to do his bidding.

I hate to say it, but this feels really fanficcy, down to Mari giving a speech to Cobblepot to go get some therapy.

Bizarro v Seasonal Depression: Dawn of Climate Change! - Bizarro.

Bizarro text gives me a headache, I'm sorry, particularly reading a story written wholly in it. In any case, this story is about a bunch of villains melting the 6 polar icecaps of Bizarro World and Bizarro getting the water vapour refrozen into a single icecap.

Stay Frosty - Firestorm and Killer Frost.

I liked this one! Killer Frost has reformed, but Firestorm is on monitor duty with her and doesn't quite trust that she has turned over a new leaf. Eventually he trusts her, after they take down the Royal Flush Gang together.

Snow Date - Polar Boy.

Firstly, Andrew Dalhouse deserves some praise here for the colouring job, which I really enjoyed.

Polar Boy and Comet Queen have a date while enjoying the ice sculptures of winter festival characters on different planets that Polar Boy made. Also they defeat Captain Freeze who wanted to steal Captain Cold's cold gun.

A Change of Heart - Harley Quinn and Blue Snowman. It's interesting when occasionally the pandemic gets a form of reference in comics. Here's it's a new lethal virus that causes pustules, which has infected Ivy. Harley tries to cure Ivy, first by getting the virus frozen (which freezes Ivy into a block of ice) then stealing an ancient healing rod to heal her.

Only this theft interrrupts a sting operation run by Hawkman and after some confusion, Harley and Blue Snowman team up with him.

Hawkman gets the rod, they heal Ivy with the power of friendship (okay 'heart, community, belief') and all is well.

Christmas: Cold and Fast - Flash and Captain Cold. This is essentially a sequel/rewrite of a A Flash Christmas Carol from 2016 - it hits all the same beats.

Captain Cold has dressed up as a donations Santa and is collecting to get toys to all the children of Central City. Barry suspects Snart's just doing it for Crimez reasons but gets talked into helping: Snart creates snow and an ice rink for the city, while Barry delivers all the presents while dressed up as Santa.

We also get a surprise last minute appearance of You Know Who.

Break the Ice - JLQ.

Solstice party for the Justice League Queer.

Oh hey, Ray Terrill! I haven't read any of your recent stuff.

This is...fine? The crew have to calm down Sigrid Nansen, Ice Maiden, who is having a breakdown about identity (and now wants to be Glacier). The themes. They are obvious.

[evansbby]

the smut for poyt 5 shud be angry fucking hahah! OMG NO WHAT IF THE WHOLE SITUATION TRIGGERS HIS RUT?! and he just becomes the most triggered dude on campus with barely restrained alpha rut energy coz he will ONLY fuck his girl! and when he gets her back he goes legit insane. barring the doors, finally tying her down while he marks her up all over again, pacing the room, not even sleeping just staring at her to make sure she doesnt leave again. and the ending is him finally being exhausted enough and passing out in her arms. and when he wakes up hes terrified that shes not there but she is. just under her moutain of pillows again with her hand wrapped around his pinky.

hes triggered he fell asleep, as if tis her fault coz she smells so goddamn nice and is oerfect and finally she just says "I want you to be mine too, Stevie..." and he fuckign MELTS. literally on his knees stuttering and when shes near his neck he keeps saying "are you sure? are you sure, pretty omega? my sweet, kind, loving girl." and "I can barely let you go now. if you do this, i'd follow you anywhere. burn everything but you." and she's like "I cant imagine living without you, alpha..." UGHHHHH and she bites him.

n once he does he wakes up the next day feeling so unworthy of it when he looks in the mirror and he spends the whole pregnancy fawning over her and spoiling her and trying to be a good guy. he even shuts his mouth when natasha comes over but thats the maximum he'll do. maybe he'll allow the sleepover once he sees omega pouting, saying shes never been invited to one before. hakxhjanaka! and of ourse he's ridiculous the entire time, even wiggling his way into the girls dinner.

and then whole thing with peter? well... lets just say, he had to become a freelance photographer with only the bugle as a buyer. but nonetheless i wish all ends up well for peter! he had good intentions hahaha

can i be 🐝 bee anon? or 🖖 (spock) hahah

Oh bestie I love all this so much! I can TOTALLY imagine Steve being so livid and emotional after Peter takes omega that it totally triggers his rut and he just… goes insane. Bc the one person — the only person— he wants to fuck is gone. So I totally get him locking her up and going to town on her the moment he gets her back! And omg the way her whole hand is holding onto his pinkie?!?! BESTIEEE I love that 🥺🥺🥺🥺 I may have to steal that line for the fic bc it’s so cute!

Also all the cute wholesome emotional stuff omggkgmkg!!! I love this hehe

[tigereyes45]

I wrote another small Mcspirk drabble for Trektober 2023 Day 31: Trapped Together.

Summary:

The triumvirate are trapped together on an alien planet with their hands tied.

The story:

McCoy leans back, and his shoulders tap against Jim and Spock. He holds his bound hands out behind his back, waiting patiently for Spock to finish untying Jim’s wrist. Of course, his patience doesn’t mean he’s without a complaint. 

After all a man can only sit cross-legged for so long before his numb legs start to sting again. Leonard leans his head back until it’s on Jim’s shoulder. “Why is it always the three of us that end up trapped?” 

“That is because we three are the ones most often on missions,” Spock responds oh so logically. It’s undercut by a twinge of bitterness most wouldn’t have noticed. 

Bones could feel Jim let out a sigh. 

“Well, it wouldn’t be the same without you two.” 

Bones rolls his eyes. “This is becoming an all too familiar experience. Captain.”

“Thanks, Bones.” Jim mutters. His shoulders shift as he pulls his hands out from behind his back. Jim smiles as he rubs his wrist. 

McCoy does his best to not squirm as Spock’s fingers brush over the skin of his arms. They trail down until they hit the ropes.

“I must agree with the doctor.”

James crouches back down on his knee. “Well if you two agree then I’m the one in real trouble.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Indeed captain.”

As their words overlap the last of the rope wrapped around Bones’ wrists slips off. Thank goodness. It was starting to rub his skin raw. Leonard sits on the grass, soothing his aching skin, as Jim frees Spock. Wherever their captors went, the three of them wouldn’t want to be around when they get back.

[raddocwrites]

Do you even lift, Bro Una

Una carries this crew. Literally.

Spock

“Again, commander. I do not feel as if this is necessary,” spock informed una flatly. Most anyone else would have been crying out in pain.

Una had spock tied to her back as she scaled the side of the treacherous cliff. He had his broken arm wrapped in a sling but she knew each movement couldn’t help but jostle it.

“You are injured,” she responded again. “That arm is shattered. Theres no way you could climb up this rock.”

“I believe there was an alternate-“

“This is the fastest way spock. Now shut up.”

“Is that an order commander?”

“Yes it is,” una confirmed. She eyed the jagged rock for her next hand hold. She reached up then moved her foot up as well.

The silence lasted for several moments before spock spoke again. “I am not too heavy?” he inquired.

Una sighed. “No spock, you are not too heavy. And Im not leaving you, alone and vulnerable, to go get help or anything else you might suggest.”

Spocks face looked thoughtful even though una couldn’t see it. “Hmmm,” he mused. “Perhaps Lt ortegas is right and we should have a trial to accurately measure the extend to your…obviously enhanced strength.

Una huffed out a laugh and pushed them up another foot. They were nearly three fourths the way there. “Never thought id hear you say those words.”

Spock nodded. “While it is true Lt ortegas methods are a bit…unorthodox. She does, undeniably, achieve results.”

“The results being?”

“Fun,” spock stated simply. “I have observed that humans require things like fun to allow for relaxation and rejuvenation of crew morale.”

Una paused a moment to consider his words then continued climbing. “That’s very true spock. Though as far as the lifting competition. The answers a no. Lt ortegas will have to come up with another idea for ‘crew morale’.

Spocks voice was dry as he responded, “I have no doubt she already has several ideas.”

[annyankers]

whats does dangerous/savvy mean?? is it just the au name or does it mean smth??

It’s a shorthand for the name of an au I’ve talked about a bit on here before. The au/tag is dangerous!spike and savvy!buffy.

The idea is that spike’s characterization is a little more consistent with his s2 characterization. The show in later seasons tends to nerf him and knock him out of fights super quickly (ex. blood ties) while still talking about him as the second strongest and hyping his slayer of slayers title. They also make him stupider and talk about how shit he is at plans when we see in school hard even when he gets impatient his new slap dash plans can be very good. He would have killed buffy that night if her mom hadn’t been there.

On Buffy’s end she’s a little more savvy in that she’s using more of her own personal experience as a slayer to guide her and more open to things. It feels odd to me that after the events of her 18th bday and ditching the council she still hold very close to a lot of council ideas, especially since she’s supposed to be like the most out of the box slayer like… ever. And with ats highlighting the breadth of demon culture and how many are pretty harmless it’s very weird to me when you take the buffyverse as a whole. So it’s things like not shutting anya down so much when she talks and giving her some more respect and asking her opinion since she’s a 1000+yo ex demon and a witch, acknowledging that spike as a vampire has personhood even if she thinks his interests are Yikes, considering nonviolent solutions with demons when it makes sense, working smarter not harder. A big thing is acknowledging that holding spike, a demon, to human standards is insane—something the show does constantly. It’s like being on Star Trek and demanding Spock or worf ignore their own culture and biological realities to be “acceptable” to human sensibilities. It’s kinda fucked up. Doesn’t mean she’s Pro Evil Vampire Stuff but it just means she comprehends vampire logic/needs and takes it to account when dealing with him.

So the au is those to characterizations interacting and how that effects the plot!

[magnetic-rose]

Why Spones is a top-tier ship

AKA “the inherent homoeroticism of annoying the shit out of your co-worker.”

Spock and McCoy have a complicated relationship. A lot of their bickering and ideological differences lead fans to believe that they hate each other, but that’s an over-simplification of the truth. The reality is that Spock and McCoy are extremely close friends who care about each other deeply. Though sometimes their bickering turns serious during stressful situations, for the most time they seem to enjoy the banter. A common mischaracterization of their relationship seems to put McCoy as the bully and Spock as the victim. In truth, there are many times where Spock will say something specifically to get a rise out of McCoy. They fight. That’s how they show affection, not disdain. In fact, one could argue that some of their bantering have a flirtatious tone to it.

Kirk: Mister Spock, regaining eyesight would be an emotional experience for most. You, I assume, felt nothing.

Spock: On the contrary Captain. I had a very strong reaction. My first sight was the face of Doctor McCoy bending over me.

McCoy: ‘Tis a pity brief blindness didn’t increase your appreciation for beauty, Spock. (Operation -- Annihilate!)

Spock is a half-Vulcan, half-Human who has mostly chosen to follow his Vulcan heritage. As such, he is a being of almost pure logic. The truth about Vulcans are that they are secretly beings who feel things very deeply and intensely, and they feel the need to keep a tight lid on their emotions as to not succumb to them. McCoy, on the other hand, is a regular human. He’s a deeply emotional man who cares about others. One could argue that McCoy is almost too empathetic, as he lets his emotions rule him. Spock and McCoy are polar opposites; the brain and the heart, the logic and the emotion, the super-ego and the id.

Despite these differences, the two men are similar in a lot of ways. They’re both men of science, men of peace, and they both care very deeply for their Captain. They’re both self-sacrificing morons, to the chagrin of the other. Spock will prioritize McCoy’s life even when both of them know it’s not the logical choice to do so. Likewise, McCoy will take a hit for Spock even when they both know the Vulcan is stronger and better equipped to deal with pain than the doctor.

Spock: (In the middle of a blizzard) In this severe cold, we cannot survive much longer.

McCoy: Leave me here, Spock.

Spock: We go together or not at all.

McCoy: Don’t be a fool. My hands and face are frostbitten. I can’t feel my feet. Alone, you have a chance. Now do what I say. Go try to find Jim.

Spock: We go together! (All of Yesterdays)

In the episode, “The Empath,” Kirk, Spock and McCoy have to choose someone to be offered as sacrifice to be tortured by a group of aliens. Kirk obviously volunteers, but gets put to sleep by McCoy with a tranquilizer. Spock then states that he’ll offer himself up, as he has the higher chance of surviving the torture. McCoy then proceeds to sedate Spock as well, and sacrifices himself to be tortured by the aliens.

Spock: While the captain is asleep, I am in command. When the Vians return, I shall go with them.

McCoy: You mean, if I hadn't given him that shot

Spock: Precisely. The choice would have been the captain's. Now it is mine.

(McCoy turns away. Spock sits to carry on working. Gem puts her hand on Spock's shoulder, and smiles. McCoy comes up behind him and gives him an injection.)

Spock: Your action is highly unethical. My decision stands. (Spock falls asleep next to Kirk.)

McCoy: Not this time, Spock.

Underneath all the fighting and disagreements, there is a deep caring between Spock and McCoy that manifests itself into protectiveness towards each other. In “All of Yesterdays,” Spock is constantly showing concern for McCoy after he almost died of hypothermia. In aftermath of McCoy’s torture in “The Empath,” Spock is seen hovering over his body and caressing his face, worry written into his features. On the other hand, while McCoy constantly makes fun of Spock for his lack of emotions, he’s also highly aware of the Vulcan’s mental state and protective of it when others threaten to shatter his resilience.

McCoy: He's a Vulcan. You can't force emotion out of him.

Philana: You must be joking, Doctor.

McCoy: You'll destroy him.

Parmen: We can't let him die laughing, can we?

McCoy: (Watching as Spock starts to cry) I beg you! (Plato’s Stepchildren)

The episode “Amok Time” also demonstrates McCoy’s perceptiveness of Spock and Spock’s true feelings of friendship towards McCoy. McCoy is in fact the first person to notice that something is wrong with Spock:

McCoy: Oh, captain. Got a minute? It's Spock. Have you noticed anything strange about him?

Kirk: No, nothing in particular. Why ?

McCoy: Well, it's nothing I can pinpoint without an examination, but he's become increasingly restive. If he were not a Vulcan, I'd almost say nervous. And for another thing, he's avoiding food. I checked and he hasn't eaten at all in three days.

Kirk: That just sounds like Mister Spock in one of his contemplative phases.

Kirk doesn’t notice anything wrong with Spock, and initially dismisses McCoy’s concern, but McCoy immediately picked up on Spock’s mental turmoil. Despite his cantankerousness, McCoy not only cares about Spock but goes out of his way to look out for his mental state. Part of it might be because he’s his doctor, but how many doctors go so far as to monitor someone’s eating habits because they notice that person’s suddenly being fidgety? On Spock’s end, when it comes time for him to beam down to Vulcan to complete his marriage ceremony, he specifically asks for McCoy to be there:

Spock: By tradition, the male is accompanied by his closest friends.

Kirk: Thank you, Mister Spock.

Spock: I also request McCoy accompany me.

McCoy: I shall be honoured, sir.

One episode I find extremely fascinating in terms of McCoy/Spock moments is “Mirror, Mirror.” In this famous episode, half of the Enterprise crew get transported into an alternate universe dubbed The Mirror Verse, in which evil versions of the characters exist and terrorize space as a fearsome military force. McCoy is part of the team that gets transported in the Mirror Verse, while Spock stays in their regular universe. Mirror Spock immediately realizes that half of the crew, including Kirk and McCoy, are acting strangely. When he corners Kirk to question him, he does so by threatening McCoy: “I shall not waste time with you. You’re too inflexible, too disciplined, once you’ve made up your mind. But Doctor McCoy has a plenitude of human weaknesses, sentimental, soft. You may not tell me what I want to know, but he will.” This Spock seems to have a intimate knowledge of McCoy’s mind.  When the party decides to attack Mirror Spock, he fights all of them except for Uhura and McCoy, who he simply pushes out of harm’s way.

When Mirror Spock gets hurt as the crew is trying to escape back to their own universe, McCoy is suddenly unable to leave his side. Kirk allows him to stay to nurse Spock back to health, and McCoy risks almost staying in the Mirror Verse forever for him. When Mirror Spock awakes, he backs McCoy into a wall and initiates a forced mind meld onto the doctor. The next scene has Mirror Spock holding a disoriented McCoy up and bringing him back to his crew; he now understands what is happening and he wants his regular crew back, and thus he allows Kirk and company to make the switch back to their own universe.

Other Star Trek properties have gone more in depth on how a forced mind meld can be extremely traumatizing on the person receiving it. Star Trek: Enterprise has an entire story arc dedicated to the Vulcan T’Pol trying to heal from a forced mind meld. Unfortunately, because the nature of TOS episodes were episodic, we never got the chance to explore the emotional fallout of McCoy’s forced mind meld and how that might have affected his relationship with Spock. The franchise also never went in depth on Mirror McCoy outside of what Mirror Spock speaks of him, since Mirror McCoy died of xenopolycythemia in 2269.

Closing the list of evidence of Spock and McCoy’s affections towards each other are the Star Trek movies “The Wrath of Khan” and “The Search for Spock.” Towards the end of Wrath of Khan, Spock sacrifices himself to save The Enterprise in one of the franchises most heart-wrenching scenes. Moments before his sacrifice, he knocks McCoy unconscious, touches his face and whispers “remember.” What happened in this scene was that Spock, knowing he was about to die, transferred his Katra to McCoy. The katra being the Vulcan equivalent of a soul. This speaks to the amount of trust that Spock has in McCoy. For someone who keeps most of his emotions under a tight lid, it’s a huge gesture to entrust another with the essence of their entire being. The next movie, The Search for Spock, is a journey as the Enterprise crew fight to return to Vulcan so they can reunite Spock with his body. When they finally arrive, the Vulcans warn McCoy that the process is extremely dangerous and could even result in his death. McCoy calmly replies that he “chooses the danger.” He cannot fathom living his life without Spock.

McCoy: (Speaking to Spock) I'm going to tell you something that I... I never thought I'd hear myself say...But it seems I've missed you. I don't know if I could stand to lose you again.

So in conclusion, Spock and McCoy have a rich and complex relationship that is much more than simply just “they dislike each other because they bicker a lot.” Their bickering is more akin to that of an old married couple. There are plenty of examples not even included in this post of how deeply they care for each other. Despite their ideological differences, they balance each other out quite nicely. McCoy is finely attuned to Spock’s emotions, arguably better than anyone else on the ship. Spock in turn is protective and gentle with McCoy. Once you stop looking at their interactions solely on the surface level, you’ll be able to see the tenderness and years of love and friendship between them. This is why I think Spock/McCoy is one of the most underrated and misunderstood relationships of TOS. Don’t let the constant arguing fool you into believing these two dummies don’t adore each other.

Shout-out to Tempest for their extremely lengthy ship manifesto on Spones called “Spiced Peaches,” which goes even more in depth on why Spones is a great couple. Using their manifesto as a reference was key to remembering Spock/McCoy moments. Also shout-out to the site chakoteya for having full transcripts of TOS episodes, so I could easily find quotes for this. If you’ve come this far, thanks for reading!

[scientific-tricorder]

Verily, 'tis "Veritas".

What distinguishes a prison and a dungeon?

Ha, Khan is a "Space Seed". I like how they just drop in episode names.

Why is the map just like, a board? Wouldn't a data chip be more sensible? How do they read it?

Are they using the white headbands to cover their unpointed ears? Nice reversal there.

Does Rutherford get a 'Welcome back' from his implant every time he wakes up? I kinda hope he does.

How does the Gorn wedding fit in?

I love Tendi and her censoring of events.

Between Tendi and Rutherford, looks like our main cast could definitely hold their own in a fight.

And Tendi just goes right back to cleaning, haha! I guess taking things in stride is kind of a necessary skill for Starfleet officers.

Honestly, I'd be surprised if anyone on a starship knows what's going on more than half the time.

Does Q just go around to mess with every Starfleet crew at least once? Because at least after "Encounter at Farpoint", I think he has.

But salt vampires did die out... right? I guess there was another population somewhere?

Giant Spock is canon! And as I recall, "The Infinite Vulcan" implies that Spock Two is functionally immortal, so he could pop up in person on Lower Decks...

Boimler giving us a heartfelt speech about exploration and learning and moving forward despite lacking answers.

Alien trial 101 - is that an actual class at Starfleet Academy? Because it probably should be. Or at least a unit in whatever class covers all those weird things that are just going to happen eventually.

But what about the eels? Our ensigns have a lot of very good and valid questions here.

Shoo, Q.

This episode raises so many questions, and it's good and fun.

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Hi could I have Bones from Star Trek with the whole NSFW alphabet please? Thank you!

A/N: Sorry I’m getting to this late.  I got distracted by work.  Fully focused now! PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO KEEP DOING STUFF LIKE THIS!

A=Aftercare (What they're like after sex)

S o f t

For all his grump Doctor McCoy is a loving man. He’ll hold you close, run his hand through your hair, massage your sore muscles and whisper little nothings in your ear until you fall asleep.

B=Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner)

For himself, McCoy is very proud of his hands. He’s got the steady hand of a surgeon and knows exactly how to use them in you.

He’s an ass man. No, I will not be taking further questions.

C=Cum (Anything to do with cum basically; I’m a disgusting person)

He strikes me as the type that doesn’t want to make a mess and rather cum inside you (in a condom of course, he’s not an idiot). But there is something about a drop leaking down from the corner of you lip that does things.

D=Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory)

He likes it when you call him “Doctor” in bed.  He’s completely ashamed of it, and wouldn’t tell you for anything.  You figured it out of course, but you decide not to tell him to spare his pride.

E=Experience (How experienced are they?)

He’s got the advantage of age on his side (and an ex-wife), but in terms of grand total partners, not that many. He’s a relationship guy and wants to know you’re going to stick around for a while before doing the dirty.

F=Favorite Position

He likes you riding him, either facing him or reverse cowgirl. It gives him a great view either way while giving you control of your own pleasure.

G =Goofy (How are they in the moment?)

He switches back and forth. There are times he’s all business wanting just to get lost in you. But there are times he can’t help but make a joke or a dry comment about his “magic fingers”. It’s one of the few times he completely relaxes.

H=Hair (Are they well groomed, do the curtains match the drapes, etc.)

He keeps everything down there properly clean and groomed while not going out of his way to sculpt.

I=Intimacy (How are they in the moment, romantic aspect)

Like I said before, he can switch back and forth between intense and just having some fun.  But, he’s always focused on you and your pleasure. He wants to make you feel good, the only thing that changes is how.

J=Jack Off (Masturbation Headcanon)

When you’re together, he doesn’t feel the need to jack off.  You’re all that he needs and he’s not a teenager anymore.  But, if you’re away for months on an assignment he might stroke out a session if the days has been particularly frustrating with a glass of bourbon right after.

K=Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Lingerie.

If you walk into the bedroom with a sexy pair of matching bra and panties, he just about loses it.  He’s even made sure you kept them on just so he could admire how it looks on you as he fucks you.

L=Location (Favorite places to do the do)

In his quarters or yours.  Everyone on The Enterprise is too damn nosey for him to risk it anywhere else.  Besides, he wants to be the only one to see you naked and moaning.  Call him selfish, but it’s the truth.

M=Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Call him petty, but he can’t help but get hot and bothered if you really get into Spock or Jim’s face over something.  They both need to get shot down a peg and seeing your eyes blazing gets his own fire going.  Also, really any time you bend over to pick something up.  Those Starfleet uniforms leave nothing to the imagination.

N=No (Turn offs)

Anything to humiliate or hurt you.  He can maybe tie you to the bed if you really wanted to, but that’s about as far as he’ll go.  He never really got the whole spanking thing and he’s not going to degrade you with his words.  You’re too important for that.

O=Oral (Preferences in giving or receiving, skill)

He’s more than willing to give, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like receiving just a bit more.  Like I said, something about cum on your lip really get him going.

But, in terms of his skill with his own tongue, he ain’t half bad. It’s no real loss though, he’s better with his fingers. ;)

P=Pace (Do they go hard? Do they go slow?)

It alternates, if either of you have had a rough day and just needs to fuck out your frustrations than it’s rough and fast.  Other times, he likes to take his time, rolling his hips and enjoying the moment.  He averages more toward the slow end of things, though.

Q=Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex)

This is on the rare side.  Like I said, he really does not like the idea of getting caught, so popping into his office for a quick one really isn’t an option.  You guys had a close call in the lab once and that was enough to scare him off of waiting until you guys can take your time in your quarters.

R=Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

He’s willing to try some stuff; light bondage, different positions, toys etc., but he’s not up for any of the intense stuff.  Like I said, the idea of putting you in pain, even for the sake of pleasure, doesn’t really appeal to him. And, I don’t think he’s up for much pain on his end either.

S=Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last, etc.)

He’s not as young as he once was, so he’s usually good after one round.  But, he’s going to try to make it last as long as possible, hence his more slow and steady approach on average.

T=Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them?)

He has his own fleshlight he’s kept around from his single days, but he doesn’t use it much.  He’s also not opposed to you bringing in your own toy, particularly a vibrator.  There have been a few nights he used it while fucking you that were pretty memorable.

U=Unfair (How much do they like to tease?)

He’s such as asshole when he’s in a good mood.  He’ll use his fingers to keep you on the edge, all while smirking and making some awful joke about being an expert at anatomy.  He’s lucky he’s cute.

V=Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

You know he’s getting close when his grunts and groans get louder and he starts babbling.  His words are always positive; calling you beautiful, praising the feel of your pussy, how good you make him feel, etc.  It never gets much over a low conversation, but it doesn’t need to.  This words are for you only.

W=Wild Card (Random headcanon)

He always has to have his hands on you.  No matter what position you’re in, he has to be grabbing you in some capacity.  It’s the number one reason he can’t be the one tied up.

X=X-Ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Pretty average length wise (6 in when erect), but he’s definitely a little thicker than most.  Nothing to write home about, but it doesn’t have to be.

Y=Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Like I’ve said, not as high as when he was younger.  He can control himself most of the time.  You’re more likely to initiate things than he is. 

Z=ZZZ (How quickly do they fall asleep afterwards?

Not right after.  He wants to make sure you’re comfortable and snuggled close before he allows himself to drift off to sleep.  But, once you assure him that you’re not moving anytime soon, he’s out like a light.

[kinetic-elaboration]

June 2: 2x21 Patterns of Force

Took a nap after work today!! Perhaps a bad idea.

Anyway, some thoughts on the... awkward Patterns of Force.

Another story about Jim looking for his hero, I see. That never (always) ends badly.

Definitely getting an image of little Spock (teenage Spock? young adult Spock? all little Spocks) reading about Earth history.

Oh no, an armed drone. That does not bode well. Why do Kirk’s heroes always betray him?

A subcutaneous transponder. That seems like a useful device to introduce into the narrative. (Slash remember for future purposes...)

Also it reminds of me “He’s a...a... a transponster!”

Spock in a hat. I guess the Ekosians and/or Zeons don’t have pointed ears, then.

“It’s our old enemy...fascism.”

Well this guy literally was not subtle in his references to Nazi Germany. (I’m referring in universe to what’s-his-face but this also applies to the episode writer.)

“The evidence is clear... someone did interfere.”

“You look quite well for a man who’s been utterly destroyed, Mr. Spock.” This man canNOT stop flirting for one second.

Lol, using Spock to distract the Nazi.

“It’s logical to pretend to be a Nazi? Okay, I’m convinced. You said the magic word.”

“Look! I captured him!” So proud.

Kirk’s face when Spock says he would make a convincing Nazi. Bb, you’re not doing the compliment thing right. (I’ll actually be quite honest... I find the humor in that moment but it also makes me uncomfortable given both these actors are Jewish.)

That said, Kirk is canonically better at blending into undercover scenarios than Spock is. He thinks better on his feet, creatively.

How do these people NOT recognize two whole-ass aliens.

...Maybe they do.

I do like when Kirk is being interrogated and still tries to be charming..

That Nazi really lost a lot of authority after being dressed down by his superior in front of the captives.

I like this Zeon. 

“The flaw in the plan is this locked door.” Thanks Spock. It’s this subtle humor that I think people often miss in him. Like where you can’t tell if it’s intentional or not.

Kirk is so smart!!! He never gets credit for being this smart.

Hmm, taking out the transponders is such a weirdly intimate scene.

The Zeon wants to be included in this adventure so much but they’re obsessed with each other, like “What Zeon?”

“I’ll be your platform, Mr. Spock.”

This is such a weirdly humorous interlude for a story about Nazis. Kind of reminds me in a way of that conversation with the police man on City on the Edge of Forever. I mean that ep was much better but just like the sudden switch in tone.

Spock’s like “Oh, that was cool. Made a laser.”

I heard Kirk say, “You, over there,” as in directing Spock to stand over there, but the subtitles say “Beautiful. Over there.” As in, “we did a beautiful job getting out, now Spock, stand over there.” But combine them...?

Not gonna get a disguise for Spock huh? Just gonna let him be shirtless a little more for no apparent reason.

Poor Zeon. These aliens are inscrutable and not letting him in on anything.

“Alien pistols.”

“Who would win? the entire military force of this planet or two phaser-less space husbands?"

I probably shouldn’t laugh every time Kirk impersonates a Nazi but I do. "Don't mind me... completely believable Nazi here..."

The unsubtle of the Hebrew names. And of course.. .Zeon.

“We’ll be just as bad as the Nazis.” No, actually, you’re not and never will be that’s not how it works. BUT you definitely should help the aliens. Like, that phrase grates because it’s usually used to refer to, like, use of violence, use of “censorship” but here’s it more about turning away people who are different or minority and so then it does make sense but....the connotations.

Spock’s like, “May I... get away from this emotion? Has enough time passed for me to ask that?”

More Nazis! Following them everywhere!

Oh, psych. Not Nazis after all.

Spock’s like “Betraying your own father, you say? I have never thought about that.”

“The Fuhrer... is an alien?” Actual real line AND a correct summation of the situation.

This ep does not paint the Federation in a great light. Although to be fair... John Gill was breaking the rules so.

Documentary corps... I love it. Great disguise. Flash lights in people’s eyes, have an excuse to stay in a group, no on looks at you. Genius.

Spock is honestly so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed about EVERYTHING. He cannot be tamed. Again, really an aspect of him I miss in the reboots.

Kirk really is the captain of everyone in his vicinity.

“Think positively, Spock.”

Uhura is unflappable. “A Nazi Colonel’s uniform? Of course, Captain.”

Send him down naked if you have to!! Yes, please, send him down naked.

Spock giving McCoy detailed instructions on how to put on boots... Why was dialogue like this not in the reboots?

McCoy is so polite. Polite first, confused later. “Nice to meet you, Nazi--wait, Nazi???”

I love how McCoy immediately put on his drunk face and Spock was like, "An opportunity to insult McCoy?? Awesome.”

So I assumed the Chairman was either dumb or didn’t recognize them with their shirts on but apparently he was yet another mole, so. At least it’s not a plot hole.

“The speech has no discernible pattern or logic.” Hmmm, I wonder what it feels like to have a leader who speaks with no discernible pattern or logic?

Guys. Pals. Awful people. Did he really give orders, or did he just say random shit? People will flock to anything. I'll be honest, I actually think this is one of the subtler and better parts of this episode: how chilling it is to contemplate how people will rally around any non-speech that has the right tone and a few key words. This is garbage language. But it incites people to kill.

McCoy and his stimulants again.

Spock and his mind probing again.

Wow Spock really messed with his mind there. “He can answer questions but not otherwise speak?” What kind of crazy shit is that?

They are being so mean to Spock. “Malformed ears.” “Low forehead.” That’s not a low forehead, that’s bangs.

Nice triumivirate scene at the end. Feels good, feels organic. Kirk likes to hear his two BFFs bickering because it feels like all is right with the universe, and I agree. Nature is healing.

This episode has a very weird (and very hard to swallow imo) backstory. Like, who primarily associates the Nazis with efficiency? And even if you do, if you think there’s something to the way they put together the country so fast post-WWI, all of this “efficiency” is directly tied to hatred and violence. Like Isak said, the Ekosians have nothing to hold them together BUT hating Zeons. That's at the center of the design. It's not like Gill’s plan backfired it was just... a horrible plan?? It doesn’t even make sense to me that his “effective regime” was co-opted by one hateful person because what was at the center of the “Nazi” regime before the hatred of Zeons? What could it have been? There are no other alternatives provided. Also, even if it could have been somehow accomplished without the use of a scapegoat.. is fascism really an ideal? Like the story never reckoned with that concept at all, which I find disturbing.

Here’s the thing about Gill. He is a certain real type and I appreciate his inclusion up to a point. He’s the Naive, Hubristic Intellectual. He thinks because he’s studied something, academically, he knows more about it even than people who experienced it, and he can fix all of its problems. “I can do this, but better. I am so smart, I am so well-informed, I have no flaws.” I can even see this sort of person being someone a young Kirk would admire because there’s an optimism and idealism to this naivete. I don’t think Kirk is arrogant but he is very idealistic, and when he was a young man, still in the market for heroes, or at least idols or mentors? Yeah, someone with that kind of attitude toward life--that we can deeply understand and then improve upon history--would have appealed to him. It’s possible that Gill even was the “compassionate, gentle” person that Kirk thought, or that he had that side to him.

Where I think the episode erred is in absolving Gill of most of his guilt for this state of affairs. He does die and he does admit he was wrong, but his biggest sin is allegedly in introducing a regime that could be co-opted for evil rather than one that was inherently bad. He is literally drugged (tortured in a way), to emphasize just how non-culpable the narrative thinks he is. Also, while he does apologize for interfering at all, even this is fairly brief and not expanded upon in the rest of the narrative. The truth is he shouldn’t have interfered in general, because that’s not his place or his right, and he shouldn’t have interfered in this way specifically. Even if Malakon hadn’t risen and taken over, the ideal Gil was imposing was one of unthinking uniformity, lack of autonomy, worship of a leader over the rule law--these are not the values of the Federation, the show Star Trek, or me. But he’s used more as a device to explain why the show is so unsubtly Nazi, rather than a real villain or object lesson. Even though Gill is a much better object lesson than Malakon.

And what about Malakon? The ending presents him, literally and in so many words, as the “one evil man” responsible for all of this. I think we know both from studying history and, unfortunately, from our own times, that this is untrue because impossible. One evil person is just a lunatic ranting on the street corner. One evil leader became leader because others agreed and gave him power, or agreed in part, or made a deal with the devil, or disagreed but said nothing, or spoke but were overwhelmed. It’s a disservice to the subject matter to say that dictatorships or authoritarian regimes are that simple. I get that the episode is only 50 minutes and it needs to wrap up, and it’s simpler to say “Okay, killed the Villain, now we can go back to being Not Evil, all the Ekosians will be as happy as the Zeons because we never really wanted this.” But Hitler and his henchmen weren’t the only Nazis. Regular people--and in this context, regular Ekosians--weren’t Nazis too.

Overall, the episode was okay. Very awkward though. Very blunt. I think it would have been better off not using the Nazi symbology so literally. Like the idea that a human would come into a society and purposefully create something from our history is interesting (and “what if Earth but alien?” is certainly something TOS likes doing and finds various ways to do--like the gangsters in A Piece of the Action or Neo-Rome in Bread and Circuses or even literal Greek Gods in Who Mourns for Adonais?) but not worth it given which society was being emulated. It seemed to be too much an excuse to dig out the old WWII movie costumes (and put Jewish actors in Nazi regalia which... is very... distressing) and not so much an excuse for some kind of commentary along the lines of what I said above re: the hubris of historians, the hubris of time. That aspect leaves a bad taste. It had some good ideas but I think, again, it was hindered rather than helped by how literal it insisted (for some reason) on being. Compare it to A Private Little War, which was just about as obvious a Vietnam allegory as you can get, and yet still didn’t literally transport anyone to Vietnam, and this ep looks all the more clunky. I’m probably judging it more harshly than I have on previous viewings, but I really feel like... you can use sci fi to make a commentary on the rise of authoritarianism, but the delicacy of the subject matter requires you to be particularly thoughtful in the way you do it and the actual statements you’re making.

Anyway, the Enterprise Defeats Nazis is a good episode summary at least.

I think in my last attempt at a whole rewatch I stopped at around this point. I seem to have watched the next two episodes, according to Amazon, but I have a weird feeling I only watched one, the next one, By Any Other Name, and then stopped. I don’t remember either of them so we’ll see how that goes! Will they seem familiar or not?

[sometimesrosy]

I guess it's hard for me to feel 100% confident in Bellarke endgame because I feel like what has been said during interviews were not hopeful at all. I know viewers should not understand a show with interviews But you can assume actors know their character the best, right ? And that show runners have a deep understanding their characters too ? So why would Eliza say ''C will never be able to love someone the way she loved L/she was the one for her'' or that Jason said Cl*xa were soulmates??

No one is asking you to be 100% confident in bellarke. Watch the show. See what you see. Put the clues together. Enjoy the narrative tension.

If you were 100% confident, then there would be less tension, you would not feel real fear for the characters. But knowing what we know about the 100 and that all the characters are under threat of having their entire life, goals, dreams and loves destroyed, that means we are more attached to the outcome. 

This is a narrative technique to make the audience care more. No one ever cares about the red shirts, because we know the red shirts are nothing but plot devices. But to make narrative matters worse, attempting to use red shirts to increase tension means that we never really FEEL tension or worry for our main characters. Because we know that redshirts will pay the price, not Captain Kirk or Spock or the rest of the mains. 

In other words. JR WANTS you to be unsure. He’s doing it on purpose. And sometimes it seems like the social media is DESIGNED to cause worry, because the plot itself, the narrative, seems to indicate that Bellarke is assured, is true love, are soulmates. So the only thing they can do to make it uncertain is to say, on social media, “but are they really?” The other thing they can do is make us uncertain of the genre. We see a romance story in Bellarke and romance stories REQUIRE a Happy Ever After Ending or at least a Happy For Now Ending. But The 100 is ALSO a post apocalyptic action story where anyone can die. The subplot of Bellarke seems to be an epic romance, while the main plot of The 100 contraindicates the surety of the happy ending with the possibility of tragedy and loss. Thus we have doubt. Pretty sure that’s intentional.

We can’t be 100% sure about the ending of The 100 until we see the actual ending of The 100 next year and we have to make peace with the fact that WE CAN NOT READ THE FUTURE UNTIL IT IS WRITTEN.

Maybe that’s the problem with fandom. We want what we want and we want it right now, even if getting it right now would ruin it in the long run. 

Oh. That is called lack of delayed gratification. Oh, fandom. 

As for the social media and interviews, I have to challenge your reading of what you have seen on social media. Because you say that JR said Clarke and Lxa were soulmates, but you ignore the fact that he actually said that Clarke was Lxa’s soulmate, but Lxa was not Clarke’s soulmate. AND he said that Bellarke were soulmates (and then he showed us with season 5 and 6 as canon evidence of it.)  So when you only take the JR quote that fills your heart with fear and ignore the part that confirms Bellarke, then your interpretation of the social media is both incomplete and biased. But since it is very hard to find all the various things that have been said in various places at various times, it’s hard to go back and get that more rounded POV.  Listen, I may have pulled away from fandom now, but I spent years tracking down all the anti quotes to see what was said and the pro quotes too. None of JR’s quotes are as anti bellarke as the antis would have you believe. They are far more ambiguous and he has said just as many PRO bellarke things as he’s said ambiguous things. And far more pro bellarke things than he’s said pro other ships. But this is ignored by the CLs, the Blorke antis and the anxious bellarkers. 

You just can’t ignore the things that dispute your claims, whether in canon or meta commentary. You need to take them into account, whether that means you accept that they dispute your claim or you find a way to have them make sense with your previous theories. 

I don’t ignore any of the things I’ve heard, even if someone else claims they are anti bellarke. And even evidence. I search out corroboration. Evidence. Canon. Gossip and meta are not canon nor evidence. Someone’s authority is not enough to dispute canon. 

For instance. When Eliza said that Lxa was Clarke’s true love and she would never love that way again, you must take a look at the context of the statement. First, you would have to realize that she said nearly the same thing about Finn after the season where he died.  And then you would have to realized that Eliza was speaking as Clarke from the part of canon that had Clarke grieving and actually FEELING that, as an 18 year old suffering a traumatic loss. Also you should remember that Eliza did NOT have access to the future scripts and did NOT know what JR was planning. That was said after season 3. But what did Eliza say after season 4? She actually said that Clarke loved BELLAMY. Yes. She did. and I think she said they were soulmates, too, but I’m not sure. Since season 4 she has never said anything to dispute that Clarke loved Bellamy. 

And then, as you look at the CANON (which always takes precedence over cast and crew commentary) you will see that her 2199 calls were directed at the person she loved who never responded. Not her mother. Not Lxa (and let me be clear, if she wanted comfort from her true love who she never heard back from then talking to Lxa would have served the same purpose as talking to Bellamy.) No. She talked to BELLAMY, and it was imagining HIM that kept her alive.

To continue with who Clarke loves in canon, in season 5, Clarke told Madi that yes she loved Lxa, but how she loves Madi surpasses how she loved Lxa. So in canon, Clarke loves Madi more than Lxa. Lxa is not the only love or most loved. As to the difference in love? Absolutely. She will not love anyone the way she loved Lxa. Her love for lxa was desperate and passionate and painful and political and tied up with the life and death of her people. This does not keep her from loving Bellamy as her soulmate, who she needs, who she trusts, who she has faith in, who keeps her sane and keeps her centered. Those are two different types of love. One does not keep the other from happening. Or from being real. This world does not actually DO the concept that you are only allowed one love and after that love dies you are doomed to be alone and incomplete. (witness, for a parallel, Jake and Abby and Kane.)

You cannot say that JR said CL were soulmates so that means Bellarke is in doubt without also then accepting that JR said Bellarke were soulmates so then that means they are confirmed. 

How do the two conflicting statements work with the story we’ve seen is the question you should be asking, instead of hearing a doubt inducing statement and then forgetting all the rest of the analysis and canon and subsiding into a frenzy of “the sky is falling! the sky is falling!”

Relax. 

Enjoy the story.

Pay attention to the narrative.

Look at the story from different perspectives.

Question the sm comments and theories and hold them up against canon to see how they fit, or don’t fit. When Eliza said L was the one, I remembered her saying F was the one. If there is only one, then how can she say that about two people? Because 18 year olds think that way. And broken hearts think that way too. It’s an unreliable narrator who thinks their momentary feelings are the truth of their entire life. And Eliza only knew what Clarke was feeling then, grief stricken and traumatized. She grew over the course of the rest of the season and if you ignore that, then your analysis is completely off base.

Remember that telling a story that engages us and keeps us guessing and addicted to watching means placing obstacles, doubts and real fears in the path of our favorite characters getting what they want. They are required, but they are not a sign that Bellarke isn’t the story being told. Rather the opposite. If Bellarke’s relationship is CONSTANTLY being challenged, and constantly evolving and developing, then that means Bellarke IS THE STORY. 

If there is a romance that is NOT being developed, is not growing, is actually falling apart as the partners find their needs outside of the relationship then that relationship is NOT the story. Or rather, that relationship is not about bringing he characters together, but about whatever is tearing them apart. Whether that is a political dispute or his love for another girl or her independence and identity.

[mystery-star]

Threshold of Space - Chapter 3 Aftermath

Pairing: Spock x OC

Warnings: swearing, violence, molesting, mentions of death

Words: 6610

All Parts: 

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |  Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16

If you want to be added to the taglist let me know!

Please do not repost my work on other sites or platforms!

-Her head was throbbing when she opened her eyes. Nevertheless, she tried to get up to look around a little and find a chance to escape. However, moments later she noticed that someone - she strongly assumed it was the Romulan who knocked her out - had tied her to a pole. Cursing him in her thoughts, she tried to free herself but quickly realized that it was of no use. Then she’d have to wait until someone came to get her.

She had no idea how long she had been sitting there until she was approached by one of her captors. Her heart started beating faster, one part of her was afraid of what would happen while the other was happy about a chance to escape. However, she didn’t know what she was supposed to do if she actually managed to get rid of him. After all she had no idea how the ship was built and all she knew was that she needed to get off it. Maybe they had escape pods she could use? By now the Romulan reached her and freed her arms. Somehow she had imagined he’d pull her with him, instead she was yanked up and pressed against the pole.

“Leave me alone” she hissed as she felt his hands on her hip, having an idea what exactly he had in mind. “I bet if your master hears about this, you’re screwed”

“My only order is not to kill you and bring you to Nero so that he can beam you down to earth when it’s being destroyed. I wasn’t told what I can’t do with you” His fingers laced in her hair and pulled her head aside.

“Earth’s got a much better defense than Vulcan. This won’t be easy. At all” she growled and winced when she felt his breath on her neck. Then she decided that was enough and knocked her head against his, simultaneously kicking her knee between his legs. Hoping the pointed tips of his ears were as sensitive as the one of Vulcans, she pinched it with her finger nails. He let out a loud scream and went to his knees, trying to get away from her hand. Carissa grinned “Perks of having a Vulcan boyfriend” she chuckled as she kicked him another couple of times until she was sure that he wouldn’t be able to follow her in the next few minutes. Since the red of her uniform was eye catching, she even stole his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. Maybe she wouldn’t be spotted from afar like that. She also took his weapon. After delivering another few kicks she ran away, looking around if she could see Pike somewhere so that she could free him as well. Without an idea where she was supposed to go, she just ran along the corridors, hoping she wouldn’t run into someone. But of course the ship wasn’t empty, so after a couple of minutes she heard footsteps. She hid behind a large machine, only focusing on the sounds. Luckily, it seemed to be only one person. Taking a deep breath, she raised her weapon and as she saw that the Romulan was almost past the machine, she lunged at him, knocking the gun against his skull. Before she knew it, her opponent threw her to the ground. A shriek of surprise left her mouth and turned into a painful moan as he kicked her stomach.

“Die, Starfleet officer” he growled. Much to her luck he must have dropped his weapon when she jumped at him, so he had to find other ways to kill her. He picked her up by her neck and squeezed it with both hands. Once again she went for the ears, making him loosen the grip enough so that she could tear his hands away from her. She went to her knees, coughing and holding her neck. She tried to crawl between his legs and hit his middle with her hand when she was in an optimal position. After she was past him, she got up and continued running. That was more difficult than she thought because her lungs never seemed to get enough air. Her hair was grabbed and she almost fell over. The Romulan from earlier shoved her against the nearest post with such a force that made her black spots in front of her eyes. A fist collided with her jaw and her head hit the metal behind her again. Her hand shot to her head and she felt his hands wrapping around her neck again. When she threw a short glance at him, she could she a small smirk on his face. This time she was too far away to hurt his ears, so she tried to get rid of his arms but to no avail. Suddenly, he let go of her and she tried to stagger forward and try to fight him again when she felt her knees sagging in. Before she went to her knees, she saw that the Romulan obviously didn’t feel any better and went to the ground as well. But in contrast to her, he lay there motionless. Before she could even figure out what she was supposed to do she heard her name being called.

“Spock” she choked out upon looking up and seeing him holding out his hand towards her. When she made no move to take it, he crouched down in front of her and pulled her into a tight hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck. Feeling tears of exhaustion in her eyes she leaned her cheek against his shoulder and tried to catch her breath.

“It is very pleasant to see you” he said quietly and she made a faint sound of agreement. “Have you been severely injured?”

“Mhh” she murmured “Not that much” he lifted her head and cradled her face to look at her, then placed his lips on hers. When he leaned his forehead against hers, she couldn’t help but smile a little. He rarely showed this much affection in such a short time. “No reason to rush things” she joked.

“Oh there you are. I thought you were crazy when you turned and darted away as if stung by… What the fuck?!” she glanced past the Vulcan to see Jim standing behind them, panting and supporting himself against his thighs. Much to her dismay Spock pulled away and helped Carissa up, ignoring the other cadet’s bedazzled look.

“We ought to leave” he urged, then looked back to his girlfriend “Are you in a state to run?”

“I’ll see” she replied. He gave a nod and jogged off, still holding her hand that she had no choice but to follow him. Only seconds later everything in her body was protesting but she tried not to show it. They needed to get away from here. After what seemed like an eternity, her boyfriend slowed down and Carissa saw a ship in front of them “Are we gonna steal that?” she asked “What about Captain Pike?”

“Cadet Kirk will take care of him”

“O-okay” she turned back to Kirk as they entered the ship. “Oh wow, I have the feeling that this isn’t a Romulan ship… oh hey, look at that cool bubble” she smiled and went to the middle of the ship where she had spotted the funny looking red bubble and had to refrain herself from touching it. She felt hands on her shoulder and was carefully pulled away from where she stood

“It is better if you keep a certain distance to the red matter”

“The red matter?”

“Yeah apparently that’s the thing that caused the black hole that destroyed Vulcan” Jim explained. The ship computer seemed to have switched on and welcomed Spock.

“Okayyyy?!” she glanced at Spock who stared at the ship in disbelief.

“Well that’s weird” Jim said with a shrug and went past them, while Spock asked the computer about his details. She frowned when it explained that it was commissioned by the Vulcan Science Academy in the 24th century. Was there a mistake or did the ship really come from the future? Suddenly she found Spock gone and hurried after him.

“It appears that you have been keeping important information from me” he confronted Jim.

“And what’s that about you and Clarissa?”

“Carissa” she corrected

“Your question does not relate to the mission, therefore I have no comment on the matter”

“Fine. You’ll be able to fly this thing, won’t you?” Kirk inquired.

“Something tells me I already have” this confused Carissa even more. Until now she had just believed that Spock had already flown this ship but apparently not. So what was going on?

“Good luck” Jim walked away when Spock called his name.

“I would prefer if you took Carissa with you and kept an eye on her”

“What?” she crossed her arms “I’m staying with you, of course.”

“Carissa, the overall likelihood that our plan succeeds is less than 4.3 percent. If you go with him, your chances of survival are higher than with me”

“You do know you’re sending me back to the Romulans, don’t you? Beside, screw chances, I’m not going anywhere!”

“You being with him would also increase Cadet Kirk’s chances of survival in case he is confronted by Romulans”

“God, there are days I feel like I’m talking to a wall. Besides, when I am with them I probably have a higher chance of being harmed further so no thanks” she muttered and chuckled as she heard Kirk murmur in agreement.

“Look” he said “I don’t know why but obviously she wants to stay with you, so why don’t you let her?”

“This ship was designed to be administered by one person. Therefore, her presence here is unnecessary” she sighed.

“That’s not the moment to discuss this. I can decide for myself and I’d rather die than stepping one foot onto that Romulan ship again! And you see, I might actually die with you, so guess what?” Jim made a hand movement that said as much as ‘there you go’. Finally her boyfriend agreed and Jim left after assuring Carissa that she needn’t to worry because the plan would work.

“What exactly is the plan?” she asked after he had left the ship.

“We need to destroy the drill and draw the Narada away from Earth so that the Enterprise can beam us back on board before we launch the red matter onto the ship. Since Cadet Kirk needs to find Captain Pike, it is down to me to buy him some time”

“Oh alright” she watched as he steered the ship away from the Romulan one after blasting a hole into it. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, as I already said, this ship was designed for one person so I am able to do everything myself”

“Okay. And should I… I don’t know maybe prepare the red matter so that we can use it afterwards?”

“That will not be necessary”

“But… how are you trying to launch it at the Narada then?” he didn’t answer and she started to figure it out “No. No, don’t tell me we’re crashing this ship onto theirs. That’s madness. They won’t be able to beam us back in time”

“That is why I wanted you to go with Cadet Kirk. Because the Narada has longer than this ship does” she shook her head

“Even if I had known that, I wouldn’t have changed my mind” he looked at her “And don’t you even dare telling me how illogical this decision was or whatever”

“I did not plan to comment on this at all” he started firing onto the metal cord that held the drill in place

“Oh” she watched how the drill finally came off and fell down. She only hoped that no one would be killed when it arrived at the surface.

“However, I cannot help but admit that a part of me feels a form of contentment due to your presence” she made an approving sound.

“I appreciate you telling me this. I know it must be hard for you to admit your feelings and talk about them” she placed a hand on his arm. He was about to reply when Nero’s face appeared on a little screen in front of them

“Spock, I should have killed you when I had the chance. But know that Carissa will be joining me at any moment and then you can watch her die” Spock looked at his girlfriend and she leant closer to him so that the Romulan could see her as well

“I don’t think so. Unfortunately for you I found out that Romulan ears are quite sensitive as well so I managed to escape”

“Fire on that ship! I want them dead. Dead. Now!” Nero shouted

“Bad kitty” she scolded him like she did with her cat when he did something he wasn’t allowed. The communication broke off and Spock moved over a little

“Sit down and hold tight” he said and Carissa followed his instruction, knowing he’d soon fly evasive maneuvers. That was the case but only a couple of seconds later he went into Warp.

“Do you think he’ll follow us?”

“He will. After all you managed to make him angry enough to forget about anything else. Which is our luck because he would never make the choice to follow us if it was not based on emotions like anger” she smiled.

“See, it’s good you took me with you so I could make him angry” she pressed a kiss to his cheek what made him look at her with something like amusement. Not much later, they went out of Warp and he flew a U-turn, directly towards the Narada that had dropped out of overlightspeed as well. “Do you reckon he’ll figure out what we’re trying to do?”

“I suppose he is not that ignorant” as it seemed also the computer seemed to have realized what they were doing and warned Spock that he was out to collide with the Narada

“Guess what, that’s exactly what we want, computer” Carissa chuckled “Ah it seems like Nero knows” again he was firing at them and again they got a warning from the computer that if the ship was hit, the red matter would be ignited. She looked at him “What now? We’re too far away from the Narada so it’ll only kill us” suddenly a ship appeared and blasted away all the Romulan missiles so that their path was cleared.

“Enterprise” Spock called the ship “Here is Spock”

“Here’s Scotty, Sir”

“I have Cadet Wiley on board with me and request you beam her back onto the ship”

“Aye”

“What are you doing?”

“Sir, I cannae beam her back alone. It’s either both of you or no one. Yer too close to each other” as the hull of the Romulan ship came closer, she dug her fingers into Spock’s arm and shortly after felt that she was being beamed somewhere. She only hoped it was the Enterprise’s doing, not Nero’s. When she realized that she was in the transporter room of the Starfleet ship with her boyfriend still beside her she breathed out in relief. Luckily, also Jim and Pike had made it. As it seemed, Spock was already on his way back to the bridge, pulling Carissa along when they almost ran into people from the Med Bay. When the Vulcan let go of her hand, she felt disappointed but knew why he did it. It wasn’t good if people saw them holding hands.

“There is no reason for you to come to the bridge with me” he told her without even looking back

“Firstly, I was assigned to the bridge for all I know. Secondly, I think I made my point obvious when I said that I want to stay with you” they arrived at the bridge only seconds before Jim, who ordered to hail Nero. Why was he giving orders and not Spock? After all he was made Captain. Then she got even more things to wonder about as Jim (whose real name apparently was James as she just learned) offered Nero to evacuate his people. She obviously wasn’t the only one who was confused as her boyfriend started talking to Jim (or James). Luckily, Nero already spat that he’d rather relive Romulus’ end over and over again than accepting their help.

“Oh that’s a bummer” Carissa said, glaring at him “I was hoping we could repay you your hospitality… then I have no choice but to say goodbye. I don’t know how you Romulans do it, so I’ve got to do it the human way” she showed him her middle fingers “Go to hell” she felt the surprised looks of most people on her and she took a step back with a sheepish smile. Where had that come from?

“I can only agree with Carissa” she smiled as he finally seemed to have realized her name was not Clarissa. “Arm phasers and fire everything we got” he walked away from the screen and sat down in the Captain’s chair as the Enterprise started firing at the Narada, which finally got swallowed by the black hole. She slightly raised her fist in triumph. But then all her enthusiasm wore off when she heard that they were too close to the singularity as well and would be swallowed by it as well. As it seemed there was nothing they could to, the ship was already on maximum Warp. Great. She was starting to get angry at Kirk for ordering to fire at the Narada instead of leaving instantly. But then Scotty from the engineering seemed to have an idea, detonation something and creating a blast that could push them away from the black hole. Only now she realized that maybe it was better if she sat down as well and quickly took a seat in the nearest empty chair, grabbing it as she had done before they left the dock on Earth. Somehow she had a feeling as if years had passed since then, but she knew that it probably was only about a day or two. She’d have to ask her boyfriend, after all he must have been able to keep track of the time. “Sulu?” Kirk said after he had made sure everyone on the bridge was alright “Let’s go home”

-oO0Oo-

For some reason, Carissa felt odd about being back. It was, as if everything had changed. At least she had heard the full story of what had happened by now: Nero was from the future, just after his home planet had been destroyed. And apparently a future version of Spock had promised them to save Romulus but came too late so Nero had sworn to get revenge. A part of her felt dumb for not realizing it, it was a plausible explanation and answered all her questions. However, shortly after she felt new questions arising. Did this mean that a new timeline was created? Was there a possibility to restore Vulcan? What would the older version of her boyfriend do, travel back to his own time or stay here? She soon realized that the easiest way to have her questions answered was talking to the time traveler. Besides, she had noticed that she still was in possession of the photograph Nero had thrown at her and she figured it was his and that he wanted it back. A doctor had given her a sick leave for the next day so she wanted to use it to talk to the older Spock. But before that she wanted to make sure her boyfriend was alright but as it seemed he could be found nowhere so she decided to do that later because she feared that his future self could leave soon. When she heard that he agreed to the meeting she nevertheless was a little surprised.

“Hi uh…” she greeted, trying her best to offer him the traditional Vulcan greeting “My name is Carissa Wiley and well… I was asking to see you.” he returned the greeting

“I know who you are, Carissa” suddenly she remembered the photograph

“Oh yeah… right” and she wasn’t even so sure if it was a good idea to come here “Sorry if I am bothering you… I actually only came because I think I got something of yours” she pulled out the photograph and saw how he raised an eyebrow as he carefully took it from her.

“I thought it gone when Nero took it from me” his index finger traced over the part of the picture that showed her. “Besides you could never bother me, I can even admit that it fills me with joy to see you again” This made her feel a twinge in her chest

“Did…did… was she... I-I mean was I, the other I with you on this mission? Did Nero… kill her?”

“No, she was not. I have lost her one hundred and two years before these incidents”

“Oh” she wasn’t sure if she felt sorry for him or if it was because it concerned herself “May-may I ask how it happened?”

“We were on a mission when another ship of the Federation appeared out of nothing. Of course we thought nothing by it, not even when our tries to contact them were not answered. By the time I discovered that the other ship had been infiltrated by the enemy, it was already too late” he looked at the photograph again “Carissa was in the engine room with a couple of cadets. They were all killed when the ship was fired at.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I mean not because it concerns me… and I know that you… I mean your younger self always said he doesn’t want compassion… but-but I can’t help it. Sorry”

“There is no need to apologize for your emotions. You are human and therefore cannot control them as we can. I am sure that my younger self is aware of this. He will need you, we both have lost so much. And I fear I am the one who owes you an apology, it was my doing you got into this perilous situation in the first place”

“If you’re trying to say that it is your fault that Romulus was destroyed or what Nero did because of that… it’s not. You wanted to help and you did everything to do so, I know that. It’s not your fault you weren’t there in time”

“That is one thing I have always loved so much about her, she always believed in the good of everyone and tried to help them. If more people were like you, the galaxy would be at peace. I am sure she would have made a splendid ambassador as well”

“Yeah, that’s something my diplomacy professor keeps telling me all the time. He believes that would have been more my thing than a member of Starfleet” Carissa shrugged.

“If I recall correctly, the reason for your visit was not just to give me back my property but to ask me some questions”

“Yes, unless you don’t want to…”

-oO0Oo-

All too soon she had to leave for dinner. She had to admit that she was glad that Spock wanted to stay in this timeline because she had grown very fond of him in the few hours she had talked to him about almost everything, from how her life had been in their timeline (though he didn’t tell her too much, it was still her own life after all). After dinner, she tried to find her boyfriend again but as it seemed he refused to see anyone and she couldn’t insist without making their relationship official. She knew that if he really needed her, he’d come to her even if he was a dickhead. But she could understand why he didn’t want to see anyone, she too felt the same way because she first needed time to cope with everything. And for him it was even worse. Spock’s future self had told her that they had lost their mother when Vulcan was destroyed. Besides, she knew that she would see him the following day in the lesson anyway.

-oO0Oo-

Her first day of school didn’t start all too well. When she arrived at the diplomacy classroom she was being pestered with questions about her ‘adventure’ in outer space and if what they heard was true. She tried to dodge the questions as good as she could.

“Look, I’ve spent about one hour aboard the bridge of Enterprise, but passed out just after we got into Warp. Then I was abducted by a criminal Romulan who came from the future and he wanted to kill me because he sought revenge. He made me watch the destruction of Vulcan, I got hit, knocked out and one of them came too close for my liking and another one tried to strangle me twice before I was saved. Then I helped saving earth from being swallowed into a black hole by being part of a suicide mission before we were saved in the last second and then were almost swallowed by the black hole we created... So I hope you can forgive me if I don’t want to talk about ‘my adventure’ right now…” that helped and her classmates left her alone. But the real shock came when the lesson started. Nine seats were empty. The seats of nine cadets who had been on the other space ships that were destroyed by Nero. Suddenly she felt more hatred towards the Romulan and felt tears in her eyes. Her thoughts drifted off quite a lot during the lesson and she got two rebukes from the professor

“Oh, hey Wiley” someone called after they left the classroom. She sighed when she recognized Oliver, one of her worst bullies. “Looks like someone was naughty and is about to get punished” he shoved her “Suddenly your lover isn’t happy with you anymore” she moved away from him

“You’re just jealous that I’m better at diplomacy. But if I see you talking to a fellow cadet like this…. I can understand why you’re failing this class. Maybe you should get some… special tutoring if you know what I mean” she grinned as she turned around

“Oh yeah? If this was about failing you should get into closer contact with Professor pointy-ear”

“That sounds like a good idea” she replied coolly. “I should ask him” then she walked away, pretty surprised that she only felt annoyance at the suggestion.

Her problems increased in exobiology. She quickly discovered that she wasn’t able to finish the essay they were given last week and got a reprimand.

“Now, I want you to write me an extra essay for next week on the biological similarities and differences between Romulans and Vulcans” she started laughing.

“I can already give you my conclusion now: To sum it all up, the situation can be seen similar to different human species. While the Romulans stayed on the primitive basis of the Neanderthals, Vulcans have developed to Homo sapiens. And for all I know you set up an essay to get a conclusion, isn’t that right? Besides, I have been captured by Romulans only two days ago, so yeah… I guess I know more about them than the rest of the class and can’t be objective towards them. That’s also the reason I couldn’t finish my essay”

“Then it should be no problem for you to write that essay and present it to your fellow cadets. And I must warn you, Cadet Wiley, next time you will watch your tone” she looked down.

“Of course, I’m sorry, Professor” luckily he left and started talking about the contents of their lesson; the Romulan anatomy. At the end of the class she was pretty pleased with herself and her contribution to the lesson; now her whole class knew of the weakness in Romulans’ ears. As it seemed not even the professor knew of this what made her even prouder. On her way to the next lesson she was asked questions again, this time her classmates seemed to be in awe and probably had realized that the mission had not really been a picnic. Much to her surprise, Spock wasn’t in the classroom when she entered. Instead there was a professor she had only seen once or twice before.

“Professor Spock is tied up with business matters from the mission at Vulcan a few days ago” they were told.

“Tied up with business my ass” Oliver muttered “I bet he’s crying in a corner because his planet’s gone. No wait, he probably doesn’t even care”

“Take that back!” Carissa growled “What would you do if Earth was destroyed, huh? Besides, it was his doing that nothing happened to you”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, I have seen it with my own eyes”

“I thought you were captured by Romulans at that time”

“No, then I was already gone and helped them destroy the drill”

“You helped? Don’t make me laugh. You can’t even finish your homework properly, let alone save a planet”

“You know what? I wish that drill had hit you. Well, maybe it has, because I doubt you can be that stupid by nature”

“Cadet Wiley” she heard the professor’s voice “Is there something you would like to share with us?”

“I uh… Oliver Moore was making mean comments and jokes about the end of Vulcan and I told him that this is no laughing matter”

“That’s not what happened, uncle. Okay, I made a comment about the end of Vulcan but it only was a fact, not a joke or what she claimed. She overreacted and was the one who was mean to me and told me she wished I was dead”

“Is that true, Cadet Wiley?”

“No, I didn’t say I wish he died”

“You said you wanted that drill to hit me”

“Yes, that it knocked you out. Not killed you, besides that was just an expression of anger when you called me a liar”

“That is enough, Cadet Wiley, I demand to speak you after the lesson” she sighed. The lesson was bad but the talk afterwards was worse and left her in tears. She had the feeling that she was treated incorrectly and that the substitute teacher was biased because Oliver was his nephew as she had to find out.

All the stress and bad things that happened during the day only faded away when she noticed a message from her boyfriend on her PADD. He wished to see her in his office after dinner. Somehow she had the feeling this didn’t mean anything good. Nevertheless, she was looking forward to it and quickly ate dinner. Before she knocked at his door, she took a deep breath.

“Come in” carefully she opened the door and saw how he got up from his desk. Quickly, she closed the door and approached him, cupping his face

“Hey” his hands took hold of her wrists. “I heard you were busy today?” although she wanted to ask him how he was doing but she knew him well enough to know that she wouldn’t get an answer she wanted to hear.

“Yes, I had much work to take care of. What about you? How are your injuries doing?”

“Better. The medicine helped but I should go to the sickbay again tomorrow so that they can make sure everything’s alright again. As for my day… well” she started telling him of all the rebukes she had gotten in the morning, more than she had in all her time at the academy before.

“What is troubling you?”

“I just started to wonder if everything that happened in the past days has changed me too much”

“I doubt that it will have a permanent negative effect on your career if that is what you are afraid of. This presumably is merely the aftermath of the incidents, it is only natural that you are feeling different now”

“Yeah. I guess if I’m getting used to this again, everything will be normal again. A-and what about you? I mean… with everything that has happened… is there anything I can do for you?”

“No, there is not. In fact, no one can do anything against it. It has happened and I have to accept that” she nodded

“If you do need me anyways… I am here, okay?” she gently stroked his cheek with her thumb.

“I doubt that I will have to accept your offer but I do appreciate your willingness to help”

“It’s self-evidently” she replied as she stood on her tiptoes to peck his lips. To her dismay he quickly pulled away but a part of her understood. He obviously needed time “You mentioned that you had something to tell me?” she said, deciding to chance the topic. He nodded and offered her a seat

“After careful consideration I have made the decision to leave the Academy and join the crew of the Enterprise instead.”

“Oh. When… when will you be leaving?”

“They have not set a date yet, but it will take at least two months to repair the ship”

“So you will continue teaching in this time?”

“Affirmative” she nodded

“Well you being gone will take the only pleasant part of the class away…” she chuckled “Just-just promise that you will come back as often as you can. I-I mean don’t feel obliged to actually see me but just… I don’t know… let me know how you’re doing”

“Carissa, there is something else I need to tell you” she absolutely did not like his tone. She knew that she wouldn’t like what he was about to say.

“What is wrong?”

“There is nothing wrong. But I believe it is better if we ended our relationship”

“What?” she shrieked. “Why? Did… did I do something wrong? What?”

“No, it has nothing to do with your behavior at all. This is about me”

“Bu-but why? If you need time, that’s okay. I mean… I can stay away from you a little until you are feeling better if that is what you want”

“This is not what I meant either”

“Then what?” she only hoped he wouldn’t tell her that he didn’t love her anymore.

“I am not good for you”

“Nonsense!” he shook his head

“I have told you many times that I cannot give you what a fellow member of your species can give you”

“And every time I told you that I don’t care. I told you that I was glad you’re that unobtrusive because my ex was too pushy. You know I don’t mind that you have your own way to show affection”

“You may not care now. But as time passes you will want more and I am not sure to what extent I can comply with your wishes”

“We’ll find a solution. And if not, we can talk about breaking up then. But what is wrong now? Do-don’t you want me anymore?”

“Of course I do, Carissa, but…”

“Then tell me why! Because I don’t see a reason which means you’re being illogical, Spock” she crossed her arms

“I am not and once I have told you the facts that made me come to the conclusion you will be able to understand”

“I doubt that but go on” she murmured.

“When I was giving Admiral Marcus my mission report, I have made the observation that I was the reason for your capture.”

“If you’re trying to say that it is your fault that Nero was angry with you I can tell you that it wasn’t. It isn’t even your future self’s fault. He did everything he could and no one could have known Nero would want revenge”

“That is a conclusion I have made as well. However, it was my doing that you were on the bridge of the Enterprise, which made it possible for Nero to recognize and entrap you”

“Yeah but let’s not forget that you initially planned to leave me behind because you didn’t want me to get hurt. You only complied because I insisted and was supported by Pike”

“Yet, assigning you to the bridge was not the most logical thing to do, as seen by Starfleet standards. It made more sense from my point of view since I was hoping to be able to have an eye on you during the mission. Now I realized that I should not have done this because I have come to the realization that my decision was not solely based on logic”

“So that’s why? Because I make you show emotions and think illogically? Do you fear anyone could notice you’re… I don’t know affected by something primitive like emotions?”

“No, after all you have made the discovery that I can act as if there is nothing between us”

“Fine, then you’re fed up with pretending to not be with me…”

“Carissa, I would appreciate it if you stopped jumping to such conclusions and would listen to me instead”

“Then tell me” she got up and glared at him.

“The chance of you getting into difficulties because of me is higher than I have thought. Of course, I have never calculated the possibility before but its result was not pleasant”

“In other words, you fear I could get hurt because of you?”

“Not only getting hurt as both of us will have to expect severe consequences if our relationship is discovered”

“Wow, you used the first conditional… you think the chances someone finds out the truth is that high?”

“Yes, after all I had to tell Admiral Marcus about our relationship when he inquired the reason for Nero’s interest in you. Besides, Cadet Kirk knows about us as well and one day, he will let something slip”

“Oh come on, the Admiral won’t do anything about it, I mean... he didn’t tell you to end things, did he?”

“He did not. However, he did remind me to not forget that you are still my cadet in class”

“See. He’s fine with it. And what concerns James Kirk, we can still claim he’s jealous and spreading rumors because of it”

“Carissa, you know of my natural aversion to lying”

“Fine, then I tell them the thing with rumors and you can say that you have not realized he could be jealous but that you could understand a human doing this out of jealousy… That isn’t a lie. And you can claim that nothing inappropriate has happened between the two of us which is the truth as well”

“You are distracting attention from the fact that there are more reasons speaking against our relationship”

“Hate to break it to you but relationships rarely got anything to do with logic. They’re purely emotional. But fine, if that’s what’s bothering you, have it your way” she turned away from him “I don’t understand your decision and I don’t like it. But in contrast to you I accept your decisions” she walked towards the door and cut him off when he tried to speak again “Save your breath. I’ve heard enough. I’m your weak point, I’m what makes you show emotion and you don’t want that” she turned back to him with tears in her eyes “I hope you’re happy now. No, wait, I hope you’re not happy, because you don’t want to feel at all. I hope you’re not feeling anything. That’s what you wanted, right?” without another word she stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut.

-

Next Chapter

[flightlogmcu]

hello! i’ve been obsessed w flight log: mcu and its honestly one of my favourite pieces of fanfiction, so i was wondering, how would the mcu characters react to got7’s m/vs?

See...I was gonna wait til tomorrow to respond to this, but its Friday somewhere and this ask is too good not to talk about so let’s go:

Avengers react to Got7 MV’s

They clown them. Hard.

(So this is pre- 7for7 so the new stuff won’t be mentioned cause they don’t exist in the universe just yet. Also some of it is actually tied to the stories)

So Shuri, Harley, and Peter clown Jackson about Got7 music videos in their own Gen Z way, and while Jackson rolls his eyes, he’s not too bothered by them. Although Harley calls him Kool Aid Guy for about a month after seeing the “Never Ever” mv.

The Agents of SHIELD however? Oh they’re ruthless. 

It started one evening with Fitz wanting to look into Jackson a bit more, and it ended up being a GOT7 Youtube bingewatch. They don’t just watch the music videos, they watch the TEASERS too. Jemma, Fitz, and May give actual critique. “Fly” was very well produced, and the themes were intriguing. Jemma likes the color schemes in Never Ever. Daisy, Mack, and Yoyo are animals and nitpick at every little thing. “Gosh his throws look horrible on that punching bag, I hope he doesn’t do that in training” “Why are they under water?!” “That guy-Youngjae right? Youngjae’s writing ‘Bitch’ on the wall, is that allowed?”

It’s even worse when they go on missions with Jackson. They’ll be completely serious and focused on their tasks, but the minute Jackson moves from his position Yoyo says right into Jackson’s face, “I told you to stand by me!” In which Jackson just stares at her mortified. Coulson doesn’t comment, unless he’s in the mood for being sassy. Then he’s teasing Jackson about pumping iron in the “My Swagger” mv.

The Avengers are brutal.

Tony is actually the nice one (mainly cause he’s heard Jackson tell the behind the scenes of all these videos, and has a soft spot for Jackson), but he’ll slide in a quip or two about how corny they looked on scooters in the “Girls, Girls, Girls” mv. Bruce is a confused but supportive sweetheart and says that “You guys have grown overtime, so I can’t really criticize too much. Plus you sound good!”

Rhodey after seeing the “Stop Stop It” music video, will literally give Jackson the biggest shit eating grin the moment he sees him, and does the dance of the chorus line. Jackson has teleported multiple times to avoid him.

Natasha does not hold back. The kids show Natasha all of the Got7 music videos. She doesn’t say a word until they’re finished. “Jinyoung looks like Spock from Star Trek, Jaebeom had an emo phase all the way up to ‘Fly’ and your multiple haircuts should be outlawed in every country.” Natasha goes on for like 10 minutes about that. Jackson pouts while Shuri almost collapsed from how hard she was laughing.

T’Challa never says anything, but his face screams judgement sometimes.

Someone shows Thor and Loki the “Just Right” music video while Jackson is there with them, and it’s torture. 

“Why are you all little?” Thor asks

“It’s... we’re supposed to be dolls.”

“You look like those pests that live on Alfheim. What were they called? The-”

“The leech sprites.”

“Yes the leech sprites.” Loki goes, “That’s what you all look like. Sweet looking yet ominous, and -Why are you eating the cake like that?!”

Jackson finds out it was Rhodey who turned it on for them. Traitor.

However, for all that they joke and tease, they’re actually really supportive of the music. Everyone agrees that Jackson’s hair cut in “Stop Stop It” was atrocious, but you can catch Yoyo listening to “OUT” while sparring. Rhodey and Mack really like “Sign” and both have said on separate occasions that it’s a “Singing in the rain to get back your girl” song. Jemma likes “Everyday” and “To. Star” They’re light songs to listen to while working. She even asks Jackson why he doesn’t sing as much after listening to the latter. 

The science kids love the Turbulence Album. It’s their album to listen to as their group. Daisy straight up vibes to “Boom x3″ but will NEVER admit it (Jackson already caught her dancing one time so he knows). Natasha likes “Paradise” and has her own ballet choreo that no one has ever seen save for FRIDAY and Tony by extension.

Thor is so enamored and in love with “Just Right” and Loki likes “Q” 

May, Bruce, and Tony are avid fans of JJ Project’s “Verse 2″ Album, and tell Jackson to express their love for it to both Jinyoung and Jaebeom. Jackson slides in a few comments about it without directly telling them that the Avengers love their album. 

[captainpikeachu]

as some of the fandom are new to Trek through Discovery and have not seen Pike’s episodes in TOS, I thought it might be interesting to talk about something that I feel is an important aspect of the character that Discovery itself has not yet quite touched on so much and new fans may be unaware of the extent of it

three years before his command of Discovery, Pike was in such a state of depression that he considered resigning his captaincy and walking away from it all

I bring this up because with the writers talking about linking TOS canon to Pike’s current story and Anson Mount’s comments about Pike facing major emotional challenges, this seem a good time to examine how the Pike we saw in TOS episodes would link with the Pike we know in Discovery and the aspects of his personality that Discovery has not yet properly explored or shown except in tiny glimpses

for the most part, the Pike we have met since Season 2 started has been a jovial charming person - he smiles easy, is relaxed, has a sense of humor, and generally feels like a warm person who can put you at ease, and obviously the writers designed him to be that way because Pike needed to come in and be a safety blanket for the crew after their last season with Lorca - as the writers themselves have said, Pike is there to be a healing force for this crew to galvanize behind a proper Starfleet captain - all that easy charm and swagger and charisma, they might as well have grown him out of a Starfleet Captains lab, but this creates an interesting contrast to the man we see in The Cage unaired pilot and the flashback scenes of The Menagerie, and it makes you wonder what gave him this second wind?

because the Pike we met in the unaired pilot and the TOS episodes was a more or less sullen, brooding, and rather serious person - he was tired, weighed down, burned out, in fact, in his conversation with his CMO Phil Boyce, Pike even talks about resigning - this conversation is so very important because so much of the character can be glimpsed:

Boyce: What’s been your mind Chris, the fight on Rigel VII?

Pike: Shouldn't it be? My only yeoman and two others dead, seven injured.

Boyce: Was there anything you personally could have done to prevent it?

Pike: Oh, I should have smelled trouble when I saw the swords and the armor. Instead of that, I let myself get trapped in that deserted fortress and attacked by one of their warriors.

Boyce: Chris, you set standards for yourself no one could meet. You treat everyone on board like a human being except yourself. And now you’re tired, and you...

Pike: You bet I’m tired. You bet. I’m tired of being responsible for 203 lives, and I’m tired of deciding which mission is too risky and which isn’t, and who’s going on the landing party and who doesn’t. And who lives...and who dies. Oh, I’ve had it, Phil. 

Boyce: To the point of finally taking my advice, a rest leave?

Pike: To the point of considering resigning. 

Boyce: And do what?

Pike: Well, for one thing, go home.

resignation is not something to be considered lightly, especially people who’ve reached Pike’s position of power, yet we see a person who is clearly hammered down by guilt and pain, trying to hold a burden that he may not be able to shoulder any longer - he’s suffering from depression and self-hate, and as Boyce pointed out, holding himself up to a standard that he doesn’t place on anyone else and looking through that lens to see that he wasn’t good enough to protect his people, he’s looking for faults even if no one else is blaming him

so it makes me wonder, if this is a man whose depression is so tied to his ability to protect people, then how did he come through the war being as jovial as he seems on Discovery? how much of the Pike we are seeing is a man who actually perhaps worked through his depression and found a way to deal with it? and how much of it is simply a mask he puts on for the Discovery crew because he knows they can’t have a captain who might feel like he’s falling apart?

because a man who is so burdened and in so much guilt over losing lives, how does he go through an event like the Klingon War and being forced to stand down and be on the sidelines watching as people die and he can’t do anything to save them without having that depression re-triggered? how does he not consider walking away again because he’s tired of it all? yes the incident and loss of lives on Rigel seemed to have been building up in him for a while at the time he considered resigning, but they certainly lost far more people in the Klingon War in a shorter amount of time than probably all of Pike’s time as captain, and surely some of those people he probably believed that he could have done something to save them even if Michael had mentioned that Enterprise was so far away that they couldn’t have done anything - so again, is this smiling side of him just a mask he’s putting on?

i’m not saying that Disco Pike is entirely so different from TOS Pike, they are still the same protective person who will fight for his people and certainly don’t like being threatened or put into a cage, and we do see through Anson Mount’s performance that there are these glimpses here and there of a sadness behind his eyes that he’s holding back (the scene in episode 1 with Michael talking about the toll it took and the last scene with Tyler in episode 6) - but if we are to look at the demeanor of Disco Pike and TOS Pike, Disco Pike seems to be more outwardly charming as well as being more approachable - whereas TOS Pike seemed to lean more towards a darker serious aura, Disco Pike might as well have been painted by the writers with a giant halo of bubbly happiness

i guess i am just curious if the writers intend to bridge Disco Pike and TOS Pike, where as this season goes on, we get to maybe see this happy go lucky mask dropping with Disco Pike and more of that darker edge comes through? i mean, it was only just 3 years ago that he was so depressed that he wanted to quit Starfleet - so what gave him this second wind? was it the mission to Talos? was it something else that we never got to explore since that pilot never got picked up so maybe Discovery can now address it? was he able to find a way to work through his depression and realize what he wanted to do? is this something he still works at every single day to ensure that he doesn’t slip back into that state of feeling again? did the Klingon War push him back down from recovery? 

it’s just very interesting to me because Pike and Boyce’s conversation about what happened on Rigel is such a mirror to Pike and Michael’s conversation in Episode 1 about the war - Boyce points out that there was nothing Pike personally could have done to prevent the deaths and injuries on Rigel, but Pike rejects this and finds fault in what he should have done - Michael points out that there was nothing Pike could have done for the war effort to save lives because even if Command had called Enterprise back, they were so far away they would have never made it back in time, but again Pike rejects this, he almost gives a little scoff as he walks away repeating what Spock said about “what is the logic in staying away if there is nothing left to come back to?” - in both cases, Pike holds himself up to a standard that seems to blame only himself and no one else, everyone else can be human, but not him, and it’s this that makes me really wonder about his current mental state in Season 2?

we know that there is a sense of recklessness that is driving him, this sense of inadequacy for missing out the action and not having done anything to protect people - lives were ending and he could do nothing but watch - I’ve talked about before that’s probably why he keeps going out on almost every field mission himself and jumps into danger to protect everyone else at the expense of himself, which leads to an interesting link back to Pike’s conversation with Boyce where he talks about how he’s tired of deciding who goes on the landing party and who lives or dies, so has he basically decided then that’s why he goes on every landing party? because he can risk his own life and choose himself to live or die, but the less chance of other people facing that risk the better?

when the Talosians held Pike hostage, they warned him that “if you continue to disobey, from deeper in your mind, there are things even more unpleasant” - what did they mean by that? and is Discovery going to perhaps address some of that as they explore whatever major emotional challenges that Pike is suppose to come across? and will these challenges push Disco Pike ever closer to being like the TOS Pike we knew before? i mean, Disco Pike feels like a new man in many ways, and while i can believe that it’s natural growth in finding a healthy way to deal with his previous trauma and depression, i can’t help but wonder how much damage the war and being forced to stay out of it has done to that recovery process that he’s been on?

after all, 3 years really isn’t that long ago, especially if one of those three years was spent dealing with such a huge emotional set back - so is it a mask that he’s putting on? and if so, how long before it crumples? and how badly this might affect everything else?

[per-ineptia-ad-astra]

Star Trek Episode 1.20: Court Martial

AKA: Photoshop Is Nine-Tenths of the Law 

Our episode begins with a captain’s log telling us that the Enterprise has been through a severe ion storm, which wrecked up the ship and caused one fatality. Bummer. Evidently the damage was so considerable that for once Scotty can’t just fix it on his own, so Kirk’s ordered an unscheduled layover at Starbase 11 for repairs. Aw man, unscheduled layovers are the worst. Hopefully Starbase 11 at least has a good food court.

Kirk also adds that “a full report of damages was made to the commanding officer of Starbase 11—Commodore Stone.” Sure enough, we see Kirk and this Stone guy hanging out in what I presume is Stone’s office, which looks like some pretty sweet digs. Stone calls up the Starbase 11 pit crew and tells them to switch from working on the Intrepid to working on the Enterprise, because the Enterprise is priority one. I dunno what the Intrepid is in for, but I guess her crew will just be forced to chill out at the Starbase for a while longer, which I’m sure they’ll be real broken up over. Meanwhile, Kirk is looking over some papers. That’s right, actual papers, a whole sheaf of them attached to a clipboard. I think this is the first time on the show we’ve seen anyone doing paperwork with real paper. Maybe Stone just likes the aesthetic.

Stone asks if there’s some kind of problem with Kirk’s deposition, because Kirk has reread it three times now. There’s not; Kirk’s just still brooding over losing a crewmember, and from the look of it he’s been fixating on that report more than a little bit, presumably ruminating over whether there could have been a better outcome if he’d done things differently. But, shockingly, obsessively rereading the report doesn’t seem to be helping anything, so Kirk finally hands it over to Stone. Apparently Stone doesn’t run an entirely paper-based office, though, because he also wants the extract from the Enterprise computer log that confirms Kirk’s deposition.

Said computer log is apparently supposed to be in Kirk’s possession by now, but is not, so Kirk pulls out his communicator and calls Uhura to ask where the heck is Spock, who’s supposed to be delivering the thing. Uhura, puzzled, says that Spock should have been there ten minutes ago. That’s a bit concerning, since after all this is Spock we’re talking about. He’s not exactly prone to getting easily distracted. Maybe McCoy flagged him down to have an argument over something.

While they wait for Spock to show up, Stone passes the time by saying that the whole incident is a pity because the service can’t afford to lose men like Lieutenant Commander Finney. I don’t know what was so special about this Finney guy, but the service loses people all the dang time and they seem to be managing okay. Speaking of which, do they have to go through this every time a ‘shirt dies? Imagine how much time that adds up to in-between episodes. Not to mention the time someone died and then came back—I don’t even want to think about the paperwork for that incident.

Anyway Kirk agrees with Stone about Finney and says that he waited until the last possible moment, but eventually the ion storm got too bad and he was forced to jettison the pod that Finney was in. The whole cheerful conversation is interrupted by Spock finally showing up, via a little two-pad transporter platform tucked away in a little alcove in the wall. Man, I guess you really know you’ve made it when you’ve got a personal transporter platform installed directly into your office. Although personally I think I’d prefer an office that people couldn’t teleport directly into.

Spock’s got the computer log on a floppy disc with him, but he’s looking kinda nervous about something. Kirk asks what took him so long and Spock starts to respond, but before he can Stone grabs the floppy right out of his hand and puts it in his computer, which, uh, rude. Then Spock’s immediately cut off again as the door opens and a woman wearing some truly inexplicable clothes comes marching in.

[ID: A young white woman with brown hair partially tied up, walking through a doorway, wearing what looks like a white tank top under a pale blue gauze shirt with bright blue cuffs and bright blue lapels that come down into a kind of bow and a metallic blue skirt split into rectangular strips, over white tights.]

The woman is in a right mood, which, I would be too if I was wearing that outfit, but she’s obviously got something else entirely on her mind. She marches right up to Kirk and angrily declares that “I just wanted one more look at you—the man who killed my father! Prepare to die!” Wait, no. Not that last part. Sorry, force of habit.

Kirk tries to talk the woman—Jame, he calls her (pronounced ‘Jamie’)—down, saying that Finney was his friend and Kirk did not in fact kill him intentionally, but Jame yells back that Kirk did so kill Finney intentionally because he hated Finney all his life, the MURDERER. Look, lady, just because someone died on the Enterprise doesn’t mean they were Kirk’s personal enemy. No one has that many enemies, c’mon.

But Jame’s too worked up to hear it and all this shouting about murder is making things real awkward for everyone, so Stone asks Spock to kindly remove her from the room. Well, actually, he just says, “Spock, please...” which is a sentence that can end a lot of ways, really. “Spock, please, remove this unsightly woman from my presence. Her tears bore me.”

As Spock gently ushers Jame out of the room, Stone asks Kirk, hey, you did say that you jettisoned the pod after the red alert, right? Kirk says that he did, yes, as he, y’know, stated in the deposition that Stone is literally holding right now. “Then, captain,” Stone says ominously, “I must presume that you have committed willful perjury!” DUHN DUHN DUHN.

Yes, it seems that the computer log that Stone is looking at shows that Kirk actually jettisoned the pod before going to red alert, quite the opposite of what he said. While Kirk stands there looking completely stunned, Stone tells him that he’s now confined to the base, pending an inquiry as to whether a full court martial is in order. Gee, I wonder if the episode titled Court Martial will involve a court martial? I’m on the edge of my seat.

After the titles, we get a captain’s log telling us that the Enterprise is still in orbit, being repaired, while Kirk is standing by until the inquiry happens—but he’s confident of the outcome. So confident, he’s going to casually stroll into the starbase bar to get a drink while he waits for them to clear his name and apologize.

But when Kirk, accompanied by McCoy, walks up to a guy he knows and cheerfully remarks “haven’t seen you since the Vulcanian expedition,” he gets the cold shoulder. (As for what ‘the Vulcanian expedition’ was, your guess is as good as mine.) No one else Kirk tries to talk to seems to be in a friendly mood either. One of them says, “I understand you’re laying over for repairs. Big job?” but this seemingly innocuous conversation starter turns out to be a trap. When Kirk replies that they’ll be there for a couple of days, the guy asks if they’ll be moving out after that. Why ask? Oh, he just wondered how long it would take Kirk to get a new records officer.

Ah. I see how it is. So does Kirk. “You can talk plainer than that,” he tells the guy, and the guy sneers that he could, but, “I think the point’s been made. Ben was a friend of ours.” Meanwhile, somewhere in this exchange McCoy, who knows shit about to go down when he sees it, has acquired a drink to better fortify himself for this nonsense. He tries to pull Kirk away from the brewing fight, but Kirk won’t budge. “No, go on, finish,” he says. “Ben was a friend of yours, and...”

McCoy breaks in with a stern “Jim” and hey, if McCoy is telling you an argument has gone too far you know it has really gone too far. Completely ignoring this, Kirk snaps that he’s waiting to hear the rest. Fortunately, McCoy’s other services don’t end up being required; when the guy says, “Why don’t you tell us?” Kirk stops rising to the bait and says there would be no point because they’ve already made up their minds, then turns on his heel and leaves.

Man, word travels fast around this starbase. You wouldn’t think Starfleet would exactly be loose-lipped about an inquiry into possible murder to begin with, but either they were or these guys heard that Finney had died and immediately assumed that Kirk was responsible all on their own. Then again, Kirk mentions that they were all in the Academy together, and Kirk is the only one wearing captain’s stripes; one wonders if there might have been enough resentment there already to make them a bit eager for blood.

As Kirk leaves the bar he bumps into a guy, catching the attention of a woman coming in, who stops and looks at him in surprise. A woman who apparently is just so comfortable and at home at Starbase 11 that she doesn’t feel the need to wear shoes.

[ID: A white woman with short blonde hair pausing and looking around as she enters a crowded room. She’s wearing a kind of open dress/robe that is green and yellow with tie-dye-like splotches, yellow tights, and no shoes.]

McCoy zeroes in on her with remarkable speed. “If you have any doubt, that was indeed Captain James Kirk of the Enterprise,” he says, which is a hell of a way to start a conversation. The woman replies that yes, she knows, and then asks if McCoy is a friend of Kirk’s. ‘Nemesis’ might be a more accurate term, but sure, ‘friend’ will do. Hearing this, the woman introduces herself as Areel Shaw, also a Friend of Kirk.

“All my old friends look like doctors. All of his look like you,” McCoy comments. There’s...there’s a lot going on in that sentence.

Anyway, McCoy and Shaw go off to have a drink and, presumably, commiserate over how much of a pain in the ass it is to be Kirk’s friend. Elsewhere—and later, presumably, since I’m assuming the starbase legal offices aren’t right next to the bar, but hey, who knows—Kirk and Stone meet to begin the inquiry.

After establishing for the record that this is an inquiry to determine whether Kirk is up for a general court-martial, Stone starts out by asking about Kirk’s relationship with Finney. Kirk says Finney was an instructor at the Academy when Kirk was a midshipman, but that “didn’t stand in the way of [them] beginning a close friendship.” Apparently Kirk and Finney wound up becoming so close that Finney even named his daughter Jame, after Kirk, which seems like a rather unfair thing to do to the poor kid. He could have at least spelled it Jamie and spared her what I’m sure has been a lifetime of mispronunciations. Hopefully this was at least after Finney stopped being Kirk’s instructor, because once you’ve named your kid after a student of yours you’ve probably lost the ability to be real objective about their grades.

But alas, this, uh, heartwarming friendship was not to last. Finney and Kirk didn’t just stop being friends, they stopped being friends so hard that Stone says it’s “common knowledge” that they had a falling out. Dang, and after Finney named his kid after Kirk and everything. That’s even worse than breaking up with someone after getting a tattoo of their name.

Kirk explains what happened: the two of them were assigned to the same ship, and one fateful night he came to relieve Finney on watch only to discover “a circuit open to the atomic matter piles that should’ve been closed. Another five minutes, it could’ve blown up the ship.” Dang, and here I had Finney pegged as a paragon of good judgment. Kirk fixed the problem and then, like a responsible crewmember, logged the incident—which of course brought Finney in for a hefty reprimand, and got him kicked to the bottom of the promotion list. Finney dealt with all this reasonably and rationally, by blaming it all on Kirk. It seems Finney already had some issues, because Kirk says that he had been at the Academy as an instructor an unusually long time before being assigned to a starship, and he felt that the delay looked bad on his record. Well, look on the bright side, man—I’m sure no one paid attention to that part of your record after ‘almost accidentally blew up the whole ship’ got on there.

This is the second time we’ve heard something about Academy students or recent graduates being instructors—remember Mitchell talking about Kirk being an instructor back in Where No Man Has Gone Before. The way Kirk talks about Finney spending a “longer than usual” time doing this at the Academy would seem to indicate that it’s normal for you to hang out at the Academy before starting active duty on a ship, but we don’t really get any more information on it than that, and if that reflects any real-life military academy practice I couldn’t find anything about it.

Anyway, Finney’s been resenting Kirk over this ever since. How he wound up assigned to the Enterprise I don’t know, but watching Kirk become captain of one of the most prestigious ships in the fleet and then having to serve under him day after day while Finney was stuck well below on the rank ladder himself presumably ground a steady supply of salt into that open wound. But enough about Finney’s hangups. Backstory established, the inquiry moves on to the matter at hand: how exactly Finney wound up getting ejected into space. Kirk explains that their scan indicated an ion storm up ahead, so Kirk ordered Finney to go man the pod. Stone asks why Kirk picked Finney and Kirk says he didn’t; Finney just happened to be at the top of the duty roster. It was his turn to man the pod, nothing more to it than that. You know what would be really helpful at this point is if anyone would explain what the heck this pod is or why someone needs to be in it during ion storms.

Once they hit the storm, Kirk went to yellow alert, as per procedure. Things weren’t too bad at first, but the storm eventually grew bad enough that he had to go to red alert, and apparently part of red alert involves ejecting this mysterious pod, whether or not there’s someone in it at the time. Finney knew he had only a few seconds to get out of there, Kirk says, and he gave Finney all the time he possibly could...but evidently, it wasn’t enough.

So, why, then, Stone asks, does the computer log show that Kirk ejected the pod while the ship was still at yellow alert—i.e., before ejecting it was necessary, and before Finney would have had time to get out of it. Kirk doesn’t have an answer for him. Stone asks if the computer could be wrong, which seems like something he should have looked up on his own time, and Kirk says that Spock is running a survey at that very moment, but the odds are “next to impossible.”

At this point, Stone stops the recording, comes around the desk to get all up in Kirk’s space, and starts talking about how being a starship captain is a really hard job. Enormous pressure, all the time, far more than any reasonable person could really be expected to take. A man under all that pressure could easily crack, fumble, make a mistake. That’s what happened to Kirk. No malice, no intentional murder, he’s just starting to slip. At least, that’s what Stone will say...if Kirk cooperates. Yeah, I’ll give you three guesses as to whether Kirk’s going to cooperate, and the first two don’t count.

But Stone persists, really laying the pressure on thick. No starship captain has ever stood trial before, he says, and he doesn’t want Kirk to have to be the first. Really? You guys have been doing this boldly going thing for how long and no captain has ever had to stand trial? Surely someone has fucked up in all that time. It kinda makes me wonder just what lengths Starfleet has gone to to avoid putting any captains on trial before this, especially with all the emphasis Stone puts on how he’s concerned for the reputation of Starfleet as a whole and doesn’t want to see it smeared. Kirk demands to know just what Stone thinks Starfleet is going to be smeared by here, and Stone fires back that okay, if you’re really gonna press that, what he’s seeing is a perjurer trying to cover up either bad judgment, cowardice, or something worse. What, you mean like, murder? It’s cool, you can say ‘murder’ on this show. It’s just sex you’re not allowed to talk about.

Kirk insists that he knows damn well what happened, it was the right call, and he’s not stepping down. Stone gives him one more chance, telling Kirk to accept a permanent ground assignment where he can fade away in safe obscurity—otherwise Starfleet’s gonna bring the whole hammer down on him.   Which is quite the tactical error, since presumably ‘permanent ground assignment’ was meant to be the more palatable option. But this is Kirk we’re talking about here. Being permanently grounded is pretty much a fate worse than death for him. Stone might as well have said “you can either stand trial or be thrown out the airlock.”

So obviously, Kirk says he’s going to fight. “Then you draw a general court,” Stone warns. “Draw it?” Kirk yells. “I demand it, and right now, Commodore Stone, right now!”

I get the impression Kirk is just as offended by the idea of Starfleet trying to cover all this up as he is at being accused of this whole thing. He didn’t do this, but if he had done this, he’d damn well expect Starfleet to punish him properly for it. What if there was some much less scrupulous captain in this position, who really did screw up and lie to cover his ass—or worse, intentionally offed one of his own crew over a petty grudge? Would Starfleet give them a quiet out instead of bringing them to justice? You wouldn’t like to think so, would you? That said, while I admire Kirk’s enthusiasm, I don’t think they can hold a general court-martial right now. We gotta at least find an empty room first.

After the break, Kirk gives us a captain’s log saying that the officers who will make up the court-martial board are on their way to Starbase 11. The last court-martial board we saw was comprised of a guy who could only say ‘yes’ and ‘no,’ a guy with the biggest conflict of interest ever, and a guy who didn’t exist, so for Kirk’s sake let’s hope this one is a step up. Meanwhile, repairs on the Enterprise are almost complete. What’s a man to do while he waits for his fate to be decided? Well, I hear there’s quite a popular option involving sorrows and the drowning thereof. Back to the starbase bar it is!

Luckily for Kirk, this time he is greeted not by a posse of passive-aggressiveness but by Areel Shaw, a much better conversational partner. They take a little table by the wall and Kirk, of course, immediately lays on the charm. Though, judging by the concerningly specific answer Shaw gives to his question of “how long has it been?” he’s already done quite a bit of charming there already. He says she hasn’t changed a bit, but she remarks that she can’t say the same for him, presumably meaning that in the sense that Kirk was not up on charges of criminal neglect and possible manslaughter when they last met four years ago. Presumably. I don’t know what they got up to four years ago.

Shaw knows about Kirk’s difficulties because—well, because it’s apparently all over the starbase, for one thing, but more specifically she knows because she’s a lawyer in the judge advocate’s office. Kirk would rather forget about his troubles for the time being and get down to some flirting, but Shaw isn’t easily put off. She comments that Kirk is taking all of this real dang lightly. “The confidence of an innocent man,” he replies breezily. It must be nice to have that much faith in your justice system.

Despite Shaw’s attempts to keep the conversation on track, Kirk is still quite distracted by Shaw herself, while meanwhile I’m distracted by trying to figure out what the hell Shaw is drinking.

[ID: An over-the-shoulder shot of Shaw talking to Kirk, with a drink sitting on the table near the edge of shot, containing an umbrella, a skewer with several brightly-colored cubes stuck on it, and various bits of greenery.]

How was there even room left for the drink in that?

She insists on giving Kirk some advice. The prosecution, she says, is going to build its case on the basis of Kirk vs the computer, and if his attorney tries to defend him on that basis, they won’t have a chance. That’s why he needs a good attorney. Oh, he needs a good attorney? Wow, that is good legal advice. I never would have thought of that. Kirk asks if Shaw herself is game for it and she stumbles a bit and awkwardly says she can’t, she’s busy. Then she reminds him that he really needs to take this whole thing more seriously; his rank is going to have Starfleet looking to come down really hard on him to preserve the reputation of the service. Finally, she gets around to recommending a lawyer: one Samuel T. Cogley. “If anyone can save you, he can,” she says. “He’ll be paying you a visit.” That sounds a wee bit ominous.

Shaw then gets up to go, but Kirk stops her and says she still hasn’t told him how she knows exactly what the prosecution is going to do. She looks at him very sadly and says, “Because, Jim Kirk, my dear old love...I am the prosecution. And I have to do my very best to have you slapped down hard, broken out of the service, in disgrace.” With that she turns and walks out, leaving Kirk to sit there in stunned disbelief that this day actually somehow managed to get worse.

Oof, that’s real rough. Also real conflict-of-interesty. The American Bar Association has a thing or two to say about that, back here in the dark ages of 2019:

The prosecutor should know and abide by the ethical rules regarding conflicts of interest that apply in the jurisdiction, and be sensitive to facts that may raise conflict issues. When a conflict requiring recusal exists and is non-waivable, or informed consent has not been obtained, the prosecutor should recuse from further participation in the matter. The office should not go forward until a non-conflicted prosecutor, or an adequate waiver, is in place.

…

The prosecutor should not participate in a matter in which the prosecutor previously participated, personally and substantially, as a non-prosecutor, unless the appropriate government office, and when necessary a former client, gives informed consent confirmed in writing.

Oh, and:

The prosecutor should not recommend the services of particular defense counsel to accused persons or witnesses in cases being handled by the prosecutor’s office.

But of course, we’re not in America, we’re in SPACE. And who knows how space law works? Maybe conflict of interest regulations were just one of those things we needed to outgrow as a species, like keyboards and amusement parks.

Speaking of things from the past, we then cut to a man sitting in a room, surrounded by old-fashioned, hardbound, made-with-real-paper books. Seriously, he’s got a lot of books in there. Kirk walks into the room and despondently pours himself a drink from one of TOS’s iconic Weirdly Shaped Liquor Bottles. Presumably this is his room, then, and he’s not just wandering around stealing booze from random people. Again. He completely fails to notice that a man with a small library has occupied his quarters until the guy says, “You Kirk?”

[ID: Kirk looking down at a middle-aged white man with receding brown hair, who is sitting in a chair surrounded by stacks of books strewn all over the furniture.]

Kirk wanders over to look over the whole scene with the kind of mild befuddlement of someone who can’t be bothered to be more than mildly befuddled because they’ve had such a long day already that what the hell, this might as well be happening too. “What’s all this?” he asks. “I figured we’d be spending some time together, so I moved in,” the guy replies casually. Wow, sure is easy to just move yourself and an entire small library into a stranger’s room on this starbase. Did we just lose all our door-locking technology at some point in the future? Has mankind just forgotten how to lock things at the same time we forgot how to recuse yourself?

All Kirk has to say about it is a dry, “I hope I’m not crowding you.” The guy asks if Kirk doesn’t like books and Kirk says he likes them just fine, but a computer takes up less space, not realizing that he’s just hit a major conversational tripwire with this dude. He immediately launches into a rant about how he has a computer in his office but never uses it, because he has his own system: “Books, young man, books, thousands of them! This is where the law is. Not in that homogenized, pasteurized, synthesized—do you want to know the law, the ancient concepts in their own language, learn the intent of the men who wrote them, from Moses to the Tribunal of Alpha 3? Books.”

I’m sure this came off differently when it was written, but even by 2019 someone with this attitude would be moving out of “eccentrically but charmingly old-fashioned” and into “straight up bizarre.” Someone in the twenty-third century having this attitude towards computers, outside of some kind of specific religious standpoint or something...it’s difficult to even imagine.

I mean, look, don’t get me wrong, I love books. And I love physical books. Proportionate to the amount of total things that I own, I have a lot of physical books, and they’re dear to me, and I would be very sad at the idea of them becoming obsolete. But the idea that they possess any kind of special magic that makes something any more real or true if it’s written in a physical book versus the same text entered into a computer? No. Of course not. Practically speaking, a computer allows you to access exponentially more information more easily, and a lawyer who chooses to disregard any advantage that big in favor of a personal philosophical preference is not a lawyer I’d trust with my career, any more than I’d trust an ambulance driver who showed up in a horse-drawn cart. Not to mention the practicality of not having to cart so many books around with you everywhere; seriously, if there’s one thing I learned from moving in and out of dorm rooms, it’s how quickly even a small amount of books can become an enormous pain to move back and forth. Heck, I’m amazed that Cogley was able to get so many in here so quickly on his own. Teach me your secrets Cogley.

Of course, at the time of writing, the idea of ebooks and generally accessing information via computers as easily as we do now wasn’t exactly a thing. One could forgive the writers for assuming that Cogley could have a salient point about books being able to store information better than computers—not that he ever makes such a point, or expresses any specific reason why books are better other than that they just are, okay. But it is a bit odd because by this point TOS had already shown us people using the Enterprise computer to read texts (in Where No Man Has Gone Before) or to look up information (in The Conscience of the King) without any problems or limitations with that information being described, unless you count the eye-bleedingly tiny text poor Mitchell was having to deal with. It all adds up to make Cogley seem less like someone whose outlook is unusual but potentially puts him in a position to have insights that others wouldn’t, and more like someone who just hates technology for no real reason.

Also, don’t pasteurize your computer. Bad idea.

Kirk muses that this guy must be either “[insert prejorative term for a mentally ill person here] or Samuel T. Cogley, attorney at law.” “Right on both counts,” Cogley says. “Need a lawyer?” “I’m afraid so.”

They shake hands. Kirk doesn’t look terribly optimistic. But hey, at least they can bond over their middle initials.

With the preliminary shenanigans out of the way, it’s finally time to get this trial started. We cut to Stone hitting a bell with a stick (but like, a ceremonial stick). Along with him, there are three old guys on the board, two in green and one in blue. Stone introduces them as Space Command Representative Lindstrom and starship captains Krasnovsky and Chondra. I don’t know what Space Command is, but it sounds cool.

Stone then tells Kirk that he has the right to ask for substitute officers if he has any objection to the board members, Stone being the president, or Shaw being the prosecutor. This sounds like a great time for Kirk to mention that he and Shaw have personal history and he’d rather she not be the prosecutor, which I’m sure would be a relief to her as much as to him, but of course, he doesn’t, so the trial proceeds.

Everyone sits down, and the computer is turned on to read out the list of charges, because the more things we can have the computer read out for us, the less Throat Coat everyone has to buy afterward. While that’s happening, we see the gallery, such as it is: there’s just some chairs against the back wall where Spock, McCoy, a redshirt woman, and Jame are all sitting. Jame’s still wearing her Sailor Moon getup. Maybe she was in such a hurry to get here and yell at Kirk that she didn’t pack any extra clothes.

The computer asks for the plea and Kirk, of course, says not guilty. For some reason this is followed by a big dramatic chord, even though that’s exactly what we expected him to say. Shaw (who’s wearing a red uniform, which confuses me—is being a prosecuting attorney considered part of Operations?) gets going by calling Spock to the stand. In Starfleet court, the stand is a chair with a glowy circle that you have to put your hand on.

[ID: Spock, in his dress uniform, sitting in a chair and putting his hand on a glowing circle connected to a nearby stand.]

Spock hands over a floppy disc, which I guess is his personal ID floppy, because once it’s put in the computer it reads out all his service info, including all the cool medals he’s received. Shaw then begins the questioning by asking, “As a first officer, you know a great deal about computers, don’t you?” Is that...is that a requirement for being a first officer?

“I know all about them,” Spock replies, a rather sweeping claim to make, but Shaw doesn’t push it. Instead she asks, “It is possible for a computer to malfunction, is it not?”

Okay, I guess Shaw is going to use the tried and true legal strategy of Asking Witnesses To Confirm The Bloody Obvious. While you’ve got him here, why not ask him a few more things, just to be sure? “Is it possible for things to catch on fire if they’re really hot? Can people bleed if you poke them with sharp things? THE COURT NEEDS TO KNOW, MR. SPOCK.”

Once Spock has called upon his extensive expertise with computers to assure us all that yes, they can malfunction, Shaw asks if he knows of any malfunction that’s caused an inaccuracy in the Enterprise computer. Spock says no. You know, aside from last week when we couldn’t get it to stop flirting with people. But when Shaw tries to move on, Spock interrupts to say, “The computer is inaccurate, nevertheless.” Asked to clarify, he says that what the computer is reporting—that Kirk reacted to non-existent emergency—is impossible. He admits that he didn’t see Kirk actually press the button himself since he was occupied at the time. So how, Shaw asks him, can he dispute what the computer says? “I do not dispute it,” Spock says. “I merely state that it is wrong.”

[ID: A screenshot of Merriam-Webster’s definition of the word ‘dispute’. ‘Dispute, verb, disputed, disputing. Definition of dispute (Entry 1 of 2): intransitive verb: to engage in argument: debate. Especially: to argue irritably or with irritating persistence. Transitive verb: 1 a: to make the subject of verbal controversy or disputation//Legislators hotly disputed the bill. 1 b: to call into question or cast doubt upon. //Her honest was never disputed. The witness disputed the defendant’s claim. 2 a: to struggle against: OPPOSE. //disputed the advance of the invaders. 2 b: to contend over// disputing ownership of the land.]

Sure buddy.

Shaw asks where the heck he’s getting this conclusion from, then, and Spock says he knows Kirk. At that point she cuts him off with a request to Stone that the witness be told not to speculate. “I am Vulcanian,” Spock says coolly. “Vulcanians do not speculate.” They can’t decide on what their species is called, but dammit, they don’t speculate!

To prove how logical and detached he is about all this, Spock goes on to give a metaphor about how if you drop a hammer on a planet with gravity you don’t need to see it fall to know that it did, and likewise he doesn’t need to have seen Kirk act to know what he did. “It is impossible to Captain Kirk to act out of panic or malice,” he says. “It is not in his nature.” Debatable.

“In your opinion,” Shaw says. Very, very grudgingly, Spock has to say, “Yes...in my opinion.”

Spock, you enormous dork. Look at him, passionately defending his friend while insisting with so much seriousness that he’s just being logical and this is all a totally scientific, objective viewpoint, because he’s a Vulcan(ian) so he would never speak up for someone just because they’re his friend and he likes and trusts them! Obviously!! God bless you, you incredibly transparent doofus.

Shaw yields the questioning to Cogley, but he says he has no questions, so Spock steps down and Shaw calls the next witness: the redshirt. Turns out she’s the personnel officer for the Enterprise. We aren’t given her name, only her rank—ensign, which seems like kind of a low rank for that position, but who knows how ranks work in Starfleet, honestly. I mean, apparently being the first officer makes you an expert at computers.

Still, I gotta give our nameless ensign this: she’s got some great eyeshadow going on.

[ID: A shot of a young Asian woman in a red uniform with her hair tied up, wearing pale blue and white eyeshadow.]

After confirming that the personnel officer is familiar with the records of everyone on the ship as per her job, Shaw asks her if Finney’s record mentioned a disciplinary action over that whole ‘almost blew up a ship’ thing. Ensign Eyeshadow says yes, and when asked who reported Finney for that, she confirms it was Kirk. That’s right, the same Kirk currently sitting in this very courtroom! Gasp!

With no further questions, Shaw again concedes to Cogley, who again has no questions. On to the next witness: McCoy. Oh man, here we go.

McCoy also hands over his card (these things are completely unmarked—can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if someone dropped a bunch of them?) and the computer identifies him as the ship surgeon, an occasional appellation of TOS’s that never made sense to me. I mean, he is a surgeon, but being the Chief Medical Officer is a bit more than that. It’s like calling Scotty the ship mechanic.

Anyway, whatever his title is, McCoy also has quite a list of commendations read out, so that’s nice. But what Shaw’s interested in isn’t his surgery skills. She wants to talk about psychology, specifically space psychology, which is like regular psychology but in space. No, really—she defines it as the study of what happens when you stick a bunch of people together in the tight confines of a starship for long periods. Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of data on it because our space psychologists keep turning into gods and dying.

Shaw asks McCoy to confirm that he is, in fact, an expert in space psychology. “I know something about it,” McCoy says dryly. Oh, stop, you.

“So you just heard the testimony of your own personnel officer that it was an action of the then-ensign Kirk which placed an un-erasable blot on the record of the then-lieutenant Finney,” Shaw says, “Psychologically, doctor, is it possible that Lieutenant Finney blamed Kirk for the incident?” Do you...need to be an expert in psychology to figure that one out? What class is “can people blame other people for things” covered under in psychology school? Seems odd to me, but a minute ago she had a computer expert up there just to testify that computers can malfunction sometimes, so maybe this is just how space law works.

McCoy’s like “uh, yeah, I guess??” because what else are you supposed to say in that situation? Then Shaw asks him, “Is it normal to return affection for hatred?” to which he replies that, well, no, not generally? In other words, Shaw says, once we learn that someone hates us we tend to hate them back, right? You know, just, hypothetically speaking. McCoy’s a bit confused by that one, since his usual reaction to someone hating him is more like “Oh yeah? Well I hated you first. Now shut up while I save your life, possibly at the expense of my own.” But he admits that sure, that other thing could happen too.

So, Shaw says, moving in for the kill, it’s therefore possible that once Kirk realized that Finney had started hating him, he started hating Finney back? At that point McCoy is like NOPE NOPE NOPE, hold the damn phone right there, that is not how Kirk rolls.

“Any normal human, doctor, is it possible?” Shaw presses. “But he’s not that kind of man!” McCoy protests. “Is it theoretically possible, doctor?”

What is going on in this courtroom? This is such an incredibly bizarre line of questioning. “Is it theoretically possible for the defendant to behave in this way?” I mean fuck man, I guess it is, because any permutation of human behavior is theoretically possible! Spontaneously declaring yourself Emperor of the United States and issuing your own currency is a possible human behavior, but that doesn’t make it relevant to the current situation! You could make someone sound guilty of anything if you’re going with that tack. She could get up there and ask if it’s a theoretically possible for any given human to commit murder, arson, tax fraud, any crime you want to pick, and McCoy would have to say yes because, well, it is! And ultimately he has to say—with a great deal of reluctance and frustration—that yes, it is theoretically possible that Kirk hated Finney in return. Cue dramatic musical sting, as if that statement actually meant anything at all.

Once again Cogley says he has no questions, so McCoy steps down, obviously fuming but managing to restrain himself from starting a fight on the witness stand. At this point Stone interjects to ask Cogley what his deal is, since he’s listened to three witnesses by now and not bothered to question any of them. “I’ve been holding back until we get this preliminary business out of the way,” Cogley replies casually. “I’d like to call Captain Kirk to the stand.” Can he...can he do that? I thought it was still the prosecution’s turn to be calling people. Space law is so confusing.

Apparently Cogley can do that, because Kirk goes on up to the chair, hands over his ID floppy, and puts his hand on the Glowing Circle of Truth. Like the other witnesses, the computer reads out his name, rank, ID number, and commendations...all his commendations. And there are a lot of them. Palm Leaf of Axinar Peace Mission, Grand Kite Order of Tactics, Class of Excellence, Frenterus Ribbon of Commendation...it just keeps going and going, while everyone sits there awkwardly.

Eventually Shaw interrupts to say, look, I don’t wish to imply that Captain Kirk is not super great and has the medals to prove it, but now that we’ve established that could we maybe, y’know, skip to the end? Stone asks Cogley about it, since after all it’s his witness, and Cogley says, “Oh, I wouldn’t want to slow the wheels of progress any...” then waits for Shaw to start drawing a sigh of relief before continuing, “BUT I also wouldn’t want them to run over my client!” So they have to sit and listen to more awards. My favorite is the Starfleet Citation for Conspicuous Gallantry, which makes me wonder just how conspicuous your gallantry has to be for you to get cited for it.

Cogley finally allows them to stop, saying he “wouldn’t want to slow things up too much.” I mean, who knows how long it might take for that list to be fully read out? We could be here all week! Ha ha! Super illustrious career there. Amazing. Totally irrelevant of course, but wow—what a guy, right?

Anyway, onto the actual questioning (finally). Cogley asks if there really was a red alert before Kirk jettisoned the pod, and Kirk says there was, so Cogley asks him to tell them all about it. Kirk starts out talking about the ion storm, but then gets rather sidetracked from giving the actual details to talking about how, despite the charges, there was no malice involved and Finney was treated the same as any member of Kirk’s crew. And no, Kirk did not panic and jettison the pod prematurely either, looking at you up there Stone. This was far from his first crisis and he handled it the same way he handled all the other crises he’s been through: he relied on experience and training and did everything that should have been done when it should have been done. Cool, thanks. That gave us almost no information whatsoever.

Cogley says that Kirk did the right thing...but would he do it again? Kirk says that yes, under those same circumstances, he would, because what he did was necessary to save his ship. “And nothing is more important than my ship,” he adds, which is a line that sure could be misused if taken out of context.

Despite getting a remarkable lack of anything useful out of that testimony, Cogley then cedes the witness to Shaw. Instead of questioning Kirk, though, Shaw opts to show some evidence. About time someone did. I was starting to wonder if this trial was going to consist entirely of vague philosophical arguments.

Specifically, Shaw is presenting the thing that started this whole debacle to being with: the incriminating computer log from the Enterprise. The episode thus far has been rather vague as to the exact nature of this computer log, so you could easily imagine that it was, y’know, an actual log made by the computer of everything that went through it during that particular interval. Nah. Of course not. It’s just footage of the bridge during the incident, because I guess the Enterprise is equipped with security cameras everywhere.

The recording shows us an overhead view of the bridge as Uhura reports an ion storm upcoming. Kirk says they’ll need someone in the pod for recordings. I’m still in the weeds about what exactly the pod is and why someone needs to be in it, but no one feels like explaining. Spock says that Finney is at the top of the duty roster, so Uhura has him report to the pod for “reading of ion slates” which really didn’t clear up my confusion any.

They continue to approach the ion storm, getting increasingly jostled about the closer they get. At this point, Shaw has the video reversed and paused, then magnified to show the panel on Kirk’s chair. That’s some pretty damn impressive magnification, considering that not only did it retain perfect image quality as it zoomed in, it also changed the camera angle.

[ID: 1. A computer screen showing an overhead shot of the bridge, as Shaw says, “Stop.” 2. Shaw saying, “Go forward with the magnification on the panel.” 3. The computer screen again, showing the panel of Kirk’s chair from behind, with five buttons on it; the first three are a yellow one labeled Alert, a red one labeled Alert, a green one labeled Jettison Pod, and the last two are white and unlabeled.]

But more importantly, now that we have a good shot of the panel we can see that not only can Kirk toggle red and yellow alerts directly from it, the ‘jettison pod’ button is RIGHT THERE. Who put that there?! Why? Why would the captain need direct access to that of all possible buttons, and for the love of God, why would you put it somewhere where it could so easily be pressed accidentally?? All it would take is one slip of the thumb and there goes your pod! I’m amazed Starfleet isn’t having more court martials about people being prematurely jettisoned if that’s where you put the button! This is the worst UI ever!

Remarkably, though, Shaw didn’t pause the video just to show us Starfleet’s incredibly bad design policies; she just wanted to point out that Kirk was pressing the yellow alert button, which she carefully describes in case anyone in the courtroom couldn’t figure out that that’s what pressing the yellow button marked ‘alert’ does. Then the log resumes, switching to another camera angle in the process. It sure is nice of the computer to dramatically edit its own footage for us.

Uhura says that there’s a call coming in from the pod, which is just Finney confirming that readings are in progress. Kirk tells Finney to make it fast, because they may have to go to red alert. On cue, the bridge shakes again. Not enough that anyone has to throw themselves across the set, but it’s clearly getting worse. Hanson, at the helm (hey, remember him?), reports that they’re getting “natural vibrations of force two” and then “force three.” That sounds bad. I guess.

Kirk tells engineering to give them more thrust, then calls Finney and tells him to get ready to get out of there because things are looking bad. The shaking gets worse and worse until Hanson is reporting force five. Then, suddenly, we cut back to the chair panel to see Kirk pressing the ‘jettison pod’ button, despite the light still showing only yellow alert. Wow, how convenient that the recording switched camera angles right at that critical moment. I’m sure there’s nothing significant about that.

Shaw freezes the footage there and, as Kirk and Cogley stare in shock, points out to everyone that the ship is clearly not at red alert there. In other words, Kirk jettisoned Finney because of an emergency that didn’t even exist at the time.

All Kirk can do is stare at the frozen image and helplessly whisper, “But that’s not the way it happened.” I dunno, man, that’s what the computer says. Are you saying the computer could be wrong? I don’t see how that could happen.

After the break, we get a nice shot of Starbase Eleven, which contrary to what you may have been imagining is actually on a planet, or at least, some of it is. A very purple planet it is, too.

[ID: A matte painting of a rocky planet with a purple sky and a dim pinkish-purple sun halfway up the horizon, with several tall futuristic buildings in the foreground and a few more scattered across the open plain.]

Visit scenic Starbase Eleven! The premiere place to develop Seasonal Affective Disorder!

Kirk gives us a short, dour captain’s log: “The evidence presented by the visual playback to my general court-martial was damning. I suspect even my attorney has begun to doubt me.”

Cogley is indeed looking pretty grim as he sits in his office/Kirk’s room, playing with a stylus while Kirk paces around the place. “Computers don’t lie,” he says. Boy, for someone who is apparently ready to go into a screed about the inferiority of computers at all times, you’re sure quick to immediately accept their unimpeachable accuracy there, Cogley. Computers, of course, do lie, because computers do whatever you tell them to. Or, to quote another famous sci-fi franchise, “The problem with computers is that they’re very sophisticated idiots.”

“Are you suggesting I did?” Kirk snaps. Cogley hedges that he doesn’t think Kirk lied, but maybe Kirk did have a lapse and make an error. For a moment, Kirk falls into doubt, musing that two days ago he was confident enough in his own judgment to stake anything on it—which is unlikely to be hyperbole since he did indeed put his whole career on the line. But now he’s beginning to be less sure. Is it possible that when the moment came, he really did make that fatal error…?

But Kirk only allows himself to consider that for a moment before shaking away the doubts. No, he says, he knows what he did and he’s standing by it. He tells Cogley that he can back out now if he wants to, but Cogley just shrugs and says there’s nowhere to go except back to the courtroom to hear the verdict.

Shaw made such a big deal about how Cogley was the only person who could win a case against computer evidence, but so far we sure haven’t seen any sign of him living up to that claim. His entire strategy seems to have been to have Kirk testify about his confidence that he didn’t make a mistake, and as soon as the computer log was played—the computer log, need I remind you, that should not have been a surprise to anyone because the fact that it makes Kirk look guilty is the entire reason we’re having this trial in the first place—he’s like “welp, nuthin I can do about that.” I’m kinda thinking it might have been more helpful to get a lawyer who actually knew something about computers other than “they suck and I hate them.”

Kirk’s communicator beeps just then; it’s Spock, calling to say that he’s run “a complete megalyte survey on the computer.” (I’m sorry, megalyte?) “I’ll tell you what you found—nothing, right?” Kirk says.

“...You sound bitter, captain,” Spock replies, and only the public broadcasting standards of 1967 prevent Kirk from saying “no SHIT, Sher-Spock.” But after a moment he says that he’s not bitter enough to forget to thank Spock for all his efforts. “It’s not all bad, Mr. Spock,” he adds. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll be able to beat your next captain at chess.”

Kirk’s attempt at levity falls flat, and not only because he’s talking to Spock; he just can’t muster enough of his usual confidence to make it sound light-hearted instead of tired and, well, bitter. But that joke didn’t die in vain. After Kirk hangs up, we see Spock sitting at his station on the bridge, looking suddenly thoughtful. “Chess,” he says to himself, and then suddenly gets up and leaves.

Unaware that Spock’s having a dramatic revelation, Kirk is all set to get back to moping when Jame bursts into the room. Starting to think that bursting in dramatically is the only way Jame knows how to enter a room. She’s not here to accuse Kirk again, though: instead she makes a beeline for Cogley, ignoring Kirk’s attempt to introduce them, and says, “We’ve got to stop this. Make him take a ground assignment. I realize it wasn’t his fault. I won’t make any trouble. Make him change his plea.”

Well, that’s...quite a turn-around. Kirk gently tells her that it’s too late for that, but he’s glad that at least she doesn’t blame him anymore. She tells him that she’s sorry and that she was so upset at first that she wasn’t thinking when she lashed out at him. She didn’t realize just how close Kirk and Finney were until she was going through his papers and read some letters he had written to her and her mother. And I hope you’re not on the edge of your seat to find out more about Jame’s mom and if she’s alive or dead or divorced or what, because that is the one and only mention of her that we’re going to get for this entire episode.

Anyway, Jame says that she now realizes that the idea of Kirk betraying Finney like she at first believed is ridiculous, and besides, ruining Kirk’s life and career isn’t going to change what happened. Cogley notes that “no use crying over spilled milk” is a bit of an unusual outlook to take towards the guy that, according to all current evidence, probably killed your dad. Kirk shrugs it off completely and says he has to go change since the trial’s resuming soon. “You ready?” he asks Cogley, who presumably feels no such need since he’s been wearing the same clothes for the whole episode.

“No,” Cogley says thoughtfully. “But I may be getting ready...”

Meanwhile, up on the ship, Spock is hanging out in one of the Enterprise’s miscellaneous rooms, playing chess with the computer. Not playing chess on the computer; he’s just sitting with a physical board with the computer reading out its moves to him. You’d think by the 23rd century we’d have better chess programs, but maybe Spock just likes the retro feel.

If Spock was hoping to have a quiet and uninterrupted game of chess, though, he didn’t do a great job picking his spot, because McCoy comes bursting in with a pre-emptive head of steam all built up. He takes one look at Spock and the chessboard and declares, “Well I had to see it to believe it...they’re about to lop off the captain’s professional head and you’re sitting here playing chess with the computer!”

I like the implication here that someone has told on Spock to McCoy. “OMG doctor you’ll never believe what I just saw Mr. Spock doing!” “SPILL THE TEA ENSIGN.”

When Spock doesn’t particularly react to this accusation, McCoy tells him that “you’re the most cold-blooded man I ever met,” which Spock accepts as a compliment. Then, as McCoy is turning to leave—I guess this was just a drive-by call-out—Spock calmly announces that he’s about to win his fourth game. McCoy pauses at the door and says that that’s impossible, but Spock demonstrates his claim by putting the computer into checkmate.

McCoy’s look of open, stunned confusion tells us two things: one, that this is a big deal and shouldn’t be happening (unless Spock is using cheat codes or something) and two, McCoy has a surprisingly thorough understanding of the limitations of the Enterprise chess computer given that we’ve never seen him show any interest in chess whatsoever. Either McCoy plays chess against the computer without telling anyone about it, or Spock talked his ear off about it at some point.

Spock elucidates for us that mechanically, the computer is flawless, so therefore its record of Kirk’s guilt must also be flawless—but, being the super logical and detached person that he is, he just couldn’t accept the reality of that guilt. “So you tested the program bank,” McCoy muses. Exactly, Spock says—he programmed it himself, so he knows that the best he should possibly have been able to achieve was a draw.

So someone tampered with the Enterprise computer log in a way that left no evidence that anything was wrong or out of place with the log, but did make a totally unrelated program malfunction. Sure, that makes sense. You know, the weirdest part about all this to me isn’t even that, it’s that for all everyone talks about the computer log and how the computer doesn’t make mistakes, the computer log in question is, as we’ve discussed, a visual recording. It’s not some kind of hard data entry on what the operations the computer was doing at a certain point, it’s a recording made by a camera! Which means everyone in this episode of a television show is just going around saying “well there’s no possible way to alter an image if that image was recorded onto a computer so I guess that has to be true.” Yes, I realize it was 1967 and they weren’t exactly making this in Final Cut Pro, but that doesn’t make it any easier to take seriously.

McCoy takes a moment to stand there and let this revelation sink in, before redirecting his outrage into demanding to know why Spock is just sitting around with this information. Spock doesn’t deign to answer that, instead calling the transporter room and telling them “Stand by, we’re beaming down.” Note the ‘we’; Spock knows damn well McCoy is coming along whether Spock wants him to or not.

Back on the Starbase, Stone is ringing the ceremonial bell with the ceremonial stick to resume the trial. He announces that “the board will entertain motions before delivering its verdict.” Wow, they really are gonna wrap this whole thing up in all of two sessions, huh. That sure was a quick trial. Then again, I guess there’s not all that much you can do when the defense folded after the first piece of evidence got shown.

Shaw says that the prosecution rests, apparently not even seeing the need to make a closing argument. Cogley stands up next. He tries to come up with something, but all he can manage is to shrug and say, “The defense rests.” Thanks man, you’re a real help. That vague-but-dramatic remark about “I might be getting ready” didn’t come to much, did it?

[ID: Cogley, who is wearing a dark brown corduroy shirt with shiny light brown rounded lapels, two large pockets on either side, and one smaller pocket in the middle of the shirt, standing up at a table  and saying, “Sir...”]

“I OBJECT!” “On what grounds?” “I couldn’t think of anything else to say.”

You know, I’ve been giving Jame grief for the Sailor Moon clothes, but I’d really be remiss to not take a moment here to take Cogley to task for what he’s wearing. We’ve got, like, a turtleneck that just didn’t feel like making an effort that day, over some thing that I’m sure was meant to invoke an eccentric academic tweed-jacket-with-patches-on-the-elbows kind of look, but why does it have one pocket positioned directly over the center of the stomach? And what does he have in it? Is that a nail file? What’s going on here? Tim Gunn would never stand for this, I’ll tell you that.

Well, I guess that’s it for our hero. The trial is over. Kirk is guilty--

[ID: A gif from an Ace Attorney game of someone shouting “HOLD IT!” in large bubble red letters over a white starbust.]

WHAT’S THIS?? Two new witnesses have just run into the courtroom! Spock and McCoy have arrived with crucial information just in the nick of time! What a close call. They couldn’t get there any earlier, of course, because they had to stop and change into their dress shirts first. If you’re gonna dramatically barge into a courtroom, you have to look your best.

McCoy starts talking to Kirk while Spock talks to Cogley. Well, I say ‘talk.’ The scene is clearly aiming for ‘frantic whispering’ but they overshot that a little bit; Spock and McCoy are just moving their mouths while making literally no sound. If there wasn’t other sound going on at the same time I would have thought that my cat had ruined my earbuds. Again.

That other source of sound is Stone, yelling at Cogley, who is not the one causing the disturbance but makes a better target I guess. Cogley quickly breaks off the non-conversation to run up and address the board, saying that some new evidence has just been brought to his attention. HOLD IT! Shaw protests—Cogley’s already rested his case! Thanks Shaw. I bet you were that kid who’d remind the teacher that they hadn’t assigned the homework five minutes before class ends.

Stone asks Cogley what the nature of this evidence is and Cogley says that he can’t tell them, he has to show them. Really? I think you could tell them pretty easily. Here, I’ll give it a shot: “Mr. Spock’s discovered a flaw in the computer that indicates it was tampered with after all.” There, sorted.

Shaw protests that “Mr. Cogley is well known for his theatrics.” “Is saving an innocent man’s career a theatric?!” Cogley demands (theatrically). It’s probably not, mostly because I don’t think you can have just one theatric.

Stone tells the lawyers to stop bickering among themselves and that if they’ve got something to say they can say it to the whole class. Cogley is all too eager to do just that now that he “finally has something to talk about.” By ‘something to talk about’ he does not, of course, mean this new evidence and its significance. Rather, he wants to talk about “Rights, sir, human rights, the Bible, the Code of Hammurabi, and of Justinian, Magna Carta, the Constitution of the United States, fundamental declarations of the Martian Colonies, the statutes of Alpha 3—gentlemen, these documents all speak of rights.”

Yes, yes, nice use of “let me remind you that we’re in the future by listing a bunch of real things along with a couple fictional ones” but WHAT are you TALKING about? You just listed a bunch of things that have laws in them! What does that have to do with anything? Are you just trying to prove that you are so a real lawyer? This is no way to win a court case!

It’s not just me who’s confused, either—look at Spock’s face while all this is happening.

[ID: Spock, wearing his dress uniform, looking off at an angle and frowning in puzzlement.]

Cogley starts talking about the various rights these documents speak of, because all of them definitely cover the same ground, sure, that seems right. Eventually he comes around to some kind of point, which is that these documents all speak of the right for the accused to be confronted by the witnesses against them. Well...the Constitution sure does. The Bible says “I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him.” so I guess that counts. The Magna Carta, on the other hand, basically only says that people (meaning men, of course) have the right to a lawful trial. And the Code of Hammurabi says “If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall take possession of his house. But if the river prove that the accused is not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall take possession of the house that had belonged to his accuser,” so I’m not sure how we should go about applying that one here.

But more importantly, you might note that at no point in all this has he mentioned any actual specific current laws of the society they’re in. All he’s said is that some people, at some times, have said that that was a law. You can’t just go around invoking all the laws that anyone’s ever made! It’d be chaos! Alcohol would be simultaneously legal and illegal! Society would collapse!

But before anyone gets the chance to point this out, Cogley barrels right on ahead, declaring that this right—the right to be confronted with the witnesses against him—is a right to which his client has been! DENIED! Shaw jumps up and says that this is ridiculous, which, I mean, yes, for a lot of reasons, but specifically she points out that all the witnesses were produced in court and Cogley had the chance to cross-examine all of them, a chance he didn’t take. Well...technically speaking, everyone Shaw brought to the stand was there to give an expert opinion on something, not because they witnessed the crime. There were no witnesses to the crime, per se. Except for, as Cogley points out...the computer.

“The most devastating witness against my client is not a human being,” he says. “It’s a machine, an information system—the computer log of the Enterprise. And I ask this court adjourn and reconvene aboard that vessel.” Whoa wait what hang on now

Shaw protests this sudden turn of events—not objects, just protests—which makes Cogley start going on about rights again. Kirk has the right to face his accuser, he insists—again, at no point has he cited an actual current legal basis for this right—and if the court doesn’t grant that right, “[they]have brought us down to the level of the machine. Indeed, you have elevated that machine above us. I ask that my motion be granted, and more than that, gentlemen, in the name of humanity, fading in the shadow of the machine, I demand it. I demand it!”

“If you don’t run this trial the way I want humanity is doomed” is a rather bold stance to take, but surprisingly the court seems willing to go for it, because after the break Kirk gives a log to tell us “After due consideration, the general court-martial has reconvened on board the Enterprise.” Specifically, it’s reconvened in the briefing room, or maybe one of the briefing rooms, I’m not quite sure how many there actually are. And evidently Kirk, Spock and McCoy took the time to change along the way, since they’re all back to their regular non-dress shirts.

Cogley asks Spock how many games of chess he won against the computer and Spock says “five in all.” That number’s gone up somehow; earlier he told McCoy it was four. Cogley then asks if this is unusual and Spock says yes, because he programmed the computer himself and gave it an understanding of chess equal to his own. Thanks Spock, that was real considerate of you. Did you add any other difficulty levels in there, just in case there’s anyone on the ship who doesn’t want to play on Deity all the time?

“The computer cannot make an error, and assuming that I do not either, the best that could normally be hoped for would be stalemate after stalemate, and yet I beat the machine five times,” Spock goes on. “Someone, either accidentally or deliberately, adjusted the programming, and therefore the memory banks of that computer.” This is so not how computers work. I’m not even sure that’s how chess works.

Could that have an effect on the visual playback, then? Cogley asks. Shaw objects, saying that “the witness would be making a conclusion.” Is that...not something witnesses are allowed to do? What’s the point of having someone testify about their expert knowledge if they can’t make so much as a simple ‘if→ then’ statement? I don’t know, but I guess Stone does, because he sustains the objection, forcing Cogley to switch tacks.

Hypothetically, Cogley says—you can ask anything if you just put ‘hypothetically’ in front of it—hypothetically, if something like this had been done, it would be beyond the capabilities of most people, right? Spock confirms this, so Cogley asks who, aboard this ship, would that not be beyond the capabilities of? That would be Spock, himself, Spock says, the captain, and the records officer. Hang on, the captain? Since when does Kirk have that much knowledge of computers? And do we really not have any other computer experts on this ship? We’ve got a whole engineering department down there to make sure all the components of the ship are working correctly, but if the computer controlling all those components fails, you’ve got all of three people skilled enough to fix it? None of whom even has a position dedicated to that? Wow, what could go wrong here.

Actually, as Cogley points out, at the moment it’s not even three people—it’s two, because they don’t currently have a records officer. The last one died in a tragic accident involving an ion storm and a pod, you may have heard something about it. Cogley then turns to Kirk and asks him to describe the steps he took to find Finney after the storm. Kirk says he instituted a phase one search, which he describes as “a painstaking thorough attempt in and around a ship to find a man who’s presumably injured and unable to respond.” Of course, since the man they were looking for had been ejected from the ship straight into an ion storm, this search unsurprisingly did not turn anything up.

But...what if he wasn’t? This search, Cogley says, “presupposes, does it not, that a man wishes to be found?” Kirk stares back at him blankly, so Cogley has to elaborate—well, when you’re doing this search, you assume the person isn’t deliberately hiding, don’t you? What if they were? On a ship this size, how well could someone evade a search, if they really wanted to?

The penny finally drops. It’s clear from Kirk’s stunned expression that he never once considered this. He really does tend to think the best of people, Kirk does—even knowing how much Finney had hated him, the idea that he might be trying to get revenge on Kirk, that all this could be anything more than a tragic accident, never even crossed Kirk’s mind. Bless.

“Possibly,” he says grimly. Cogley turns triumphantly to the board and says, “Gentlemen, I submit to you that Lieutenant Commander Ben Finney is NOT DEAD!” Oh, the drama of it all!

We then cut—via a screenwipe, unusually for TOS—to the bridge, where the whole group is now camped out, along with Uhura and two helm officers, all of whom are probably feeling pretty dang confused right now. Stone says they’re waiting for proof of what Cogley said in the briefing room. Cogley says that they’ll have their proof, but first he needs the cooperation of the court in conducting an experiment. He then defers to Kirk, who he’s apparently had a conversation with at some point in-between scenes, because Kirk is able to fill in the next steps of the plan: it requires everyone onboard except the command crew and the trial members to leave the ship. So he’s ordering them all to report to the transporter room. Everyone. All 424 of them. And the transporter moves six people at a time. This is gonna take a while.

Oh, and Cogley’s also leaving; he says he has “an errand ashore of vital importance to the purpose of this court, and [he] will return.” The board is remarkably okay with the counsel for the defense up and strolling off in the middle of the trial with essentially no explanation for where he’s going or why, not something I would recommend trying in a real courtroom.

They are, however, a little concerned about this whole “everybody off the ship” business. Stone asks Kirk if he’s at least leaving an engine crew aboard but Kirk says no: the impulse engines have been shut down, and they’re going to maintain orbit purely via momentum. “And when the orbit begins to decay?” one of the board members said, which incidentally is the only line of dialogue any of them besides Stone have for the whole episode. Kirk just says they hope to be finished long before that happens. Seriously, you couldn’t come up with a way to do all this that doesn’t involve just hoping you won’t wind up crashing into a planet? And how many people did it take you to drag Scotty out of Engineering once you told him this plan? Because there’s no way he went willingly.

Sometime later (we’re not told how long that took, but if we generously assume it takes one minute to transport six people, it had to be at least 70 minutes) with just about everyone now off the ship, Kirk begins explaining to the board that the computer has an auditory sensor. “It can, in effect, hear sounds,” he adds, in case they can’t figure out what that means. “By installing a booster, we can increase that capability on the order of one to the fourth power. The computer should be able to bring us every sound occurring on the ship.” One to the fourth power? You mean...one?

Just then, the transporter operator calls in to say that all personnel have left the ship, except for him obviously. Kirk gives Spock the go-ahead, and Spock pushes a button. Suddenly an extremely loud, distorted heartbeat sound fills the bridge. Oh shit. Okay, who murdered a dude and stashed his body under the floorboards? Own up.

Kirk explains—after telling Spock to turn the sound down before eardrums start blowing out-- that the sound is the computer picking up the heartbeats of everyone on the ship. Just their heartbeats, not any other autonomic noises like breathing or digestion, or the sounds of any of the systems still running on the Enterprise. Just heartbeats. That is one selective auditory sensor you’ve got there. He then says that McCoy is going to use a “white sound device,” aka a microphone with a rubber band around it, “to mask out each person’s heartbeat so that it will be eliminated from the sounds we’re hearing” because that’s definitely a thing that makes sense.

McCoy goes around the bridge pointing the microphone at everyone’s chests (including Spock, whose heart would later be revealed to be somewhere else altogether), which causes their heartbeats to go away one by one. Finally McCoy uses the device on himself, leaving only the sound of the transporter operator’s heartbeat. “Mr. Spock, eliminate his heartbeat,” Kirk says. Whoa now, hey, what do you have against the transporter operator—oh. Oh, I see what you meant.

Spock flips a switch (and they said we’d never need an Eliminate Transporter Operator’s Heartbeat switch on the bridge!). Everyone should now be accounted for...but there’s still the sound of a heartbeat coming from somewhere. Stone very slowly gets up, walks across the bridge to find the most dramatic vantage point to stand in, and says, “...Finney.”

Yep, it looks like Finney is still alive and hiding out somewhere on the ship. Either that, or the Enterprise is haunted. 50/50. Kirk tells Spock to localize the sound and Spock says it’s coming from B deck, in or near Engineering. So Kirk has him seal that area of the deck off, and then heads for the lift, but stops because Stone is still standing there.

“So Finney is alive,” he says. Yes, thank you, Commodore Obvious.

“Commodore, this is my problem,” Kirk says. “I would appreciate it if no one left the bridge.” He hops in the lift, and I guess Stone at this point has completely given up on any attempt to exert control over the trial, because he makes no attempt to stop Kirk waltzing off the bridge. But hey, he’s just going off, completely alone, to confront a man so desperately and irrationally vengeful that he faked his own death to set Kirk up for murder—what could possibly go wrong?

So Kirk goes stalking off down the empty corridors, narrating—not giving a log, just narrating-- to us that “Sam Cogley had gone ashore to bring Jame Finney onboard. We both felt that Jame’s presence would make Finney easier to handle in the event Finney really were alive.” Oh, that sounds like a handy thing for Cogley to do. Sure would be nice if there was any sign of that happening right about now. Any...any time now.

Back on the bridge, everyone is listening to Kirk wander around shouting “BEN!” when one of the helm guys says that he’s “encountering variants.” Spock tells him to compensate. Shaw asks what this means, and Stone says it means their orbit is beginning to decay. Well, that was fast. So much for hoping that wouldn’t be an issue!

Kirk is still walking around Engineering yelling for Finney when suddenly he hears a reply: “Hello, captain...nothing to say, captain?” It’s presumably Finney, but there’s still no sign of anyone, no clue as to where the voice is coming from, so we still can’t rule out the “the Enterprise is haunted” angle just yet.

Apparently Kirk is not a proponent of that theory, because he calls back, “I’m glad you’re alive.” “You mean you’re relieved because you think your career is saved,” Finney sneers back. “Well you’re wrong!” He seems nice.

Kirk squeezes through a gap that’s in the wall for some reason and comes out in another part of Engineering, calling to Finney that it’s not too late, they can help him. “Like you helped me all along, kept me down, robbed me of my own command?” Finney says. “I’m a good officer. As good as you. I’ve watched you for years. The great Captain Kirk!”

Then, as Kirk passes along the wall, an arm suddenly comes out of a gap and sticks a phaser in Kirk’s back. Good news, you found Finney! Bad news, well, just one little minor detail, I’m sure we can sort that out.

“They told you to do it to me,” Finney says as he emerges the rest of the wall from his hiding place. I had figured he was talking into an intercom or something, but apparently he just has really good projection. “You all conspired against me, ruined me! But you won’t do it anymore!” Then he takes Kirk’s phaser and throws it away somewhere. I am shocked, shocked, I tell you, that this man would be so careless about gun safety.

Kirk, still looking unperturbed about all this, calmly tells Finney to put the phaser down. Finney says he wouldn’t kill Kirk—oh, no. Kirk’s own death would mean too little to him, which, well, yeah, it’s hard to care about very much after you’re dead. But Kirk’s ship…

[ID: Finney, a white man with graying brown hair, raising one eyebrow in a demented expression and saying, “Oh, I wouldn’t kill you, captain.”]

If you ever find yourself making this expression during an argument, it’s a good sign you may no longer be the more reasonable party.

“What about my ship?” Kirk immediately demands, doing an excellent job of confirming to Finney that he was right on the money with that one. Finney gleefully says that the ship is dead, he killed it. Specifically, he did something to the primary energy circuits. Huh, maybe emptying the entire ship so that the man we suspected to have an irrational grudge so big he would fake his own death over it could have the run of the place wasn’t a great idea.

Kirk runs over to a comm and asks Spock what their orbit status is. Spock and the helm guy confirm that their orbit is decaying fast, much faster than it should, even with the dodgy orbital mechanics in TOS. They’re out of power, Finney says—he knows this ship too, because it should have been his, would have been if Kirk hadn’t kept him from it. Oh, grow up and go to therapy like the rest of us.

Why kill innocent people? Kirk asks Finney. Finney—who started sweating buckets in-between shots—laughs and says there’s no innocents here, just officers and gentlemen, captains all, “except for Finney and his one mistake, a long time ago...but they don’t forget!” And, you know, the transporter officer, communications officer, two helm officers, the first officer and a doctor. Plus everyone on the starbase below, which was probably not built to survive an enormous starship crashing into the planet. But I’m sure Finney’s worked out some way in which they’re all responsible for his misfortunes as well. Kirk tries to take the bullet, telling Finney to place all the blame on him, but Finney says no, everyone’s to blame! Everyone but him! He was a good officer! He loved the service! He’s a completely reasonable, rational man with great judgment, and that’s why an enormous conspiracy involving all of Starfleet is the only possible reason why he hasn’t been promoted any farther yet! Then he starts crying. Great.

Meanwhile on the bridge, Spock and the helm guy are trying to fix their orbit but having no success, so Spock tells everyone they need to get to the transporter room pronto. But Stone cuts in and says, “Mr. Spock, the court has not yet reached a verdict. We’ll hear this witness out.” DUDE. PRIORITIES.

Kirk is still trying to talk Finney down, saying that it’s not too late for him to be helped, but it will be if he kills all these people. Finney insists that it’s only fair because “they killed [him]” which is either the world’s most over the top figure of speech, or he’s forgotten that he’s only pretending to be dead.

But then Kirk finally gets Finney’s attention by asking if Jame’s included in that deal. Finney, horrified, asks what he means by that, and Kirk says she’s onboard by now. Of course, he has no evidence of this, but Finney believes him anyway. “Why did you do that?” he wails. “WHY DID YOU BRING HER HERE?”

Kirk takes advantage of his distraction to rush him. That’s right, it’s FIGHT SCENE TIME. More specifically, it’s Fight Scene With The World’s Most Obvious Stunt Doubles Time. Seriously, it’s amazing.

[ID: Two shots of a pair of men fighting in Engineering. They are very clearly not the original actors.]

After a lot of general thrashing around, Finney gets his hands on a wrench. Not, like, a futuristic space wrench or anything. Just a regular old wrench, which is sitting on its own little wrench pedestal for some reason, like a museum exhibit.

[ID: Finney grabbing a wrench that’s sitting on a gray block built into the wall.]

Finney grabs it and starts going full Bioshock, swinging wildly at Kirk, but Kirk manages to dodge his way out of a serious head injury. Or at least, his stunt double does.

And yes, Kirk gets his shirt ripped.

[ID: Kirk with the front of his shirt ripped completely off his right sleeve, bracing himself as Finney takes a swing at him.]

Eventually, Kirk manages to get Finney up against a wall and clobber him on the jaw a few times, putting him down for the count. Then Kirk resumes his narration, telling us that, “Beaten and sobbing, Finney told me where he had sabotaged the prime energy circuits. The damage he had caused was considerable, but not irreparable. With luck, I would be able to effect repairs before our orbit decayed completely.”

The reason we’re getting this narration is that originally, there would have been a scene actually showing Jame entering Engineering and Finney’s reaction, which was actually shot but cut for time. Without that scene, the question of whether Jame was ever actually on the ship is kind of left open. Cogley says he was going to go get her, but obviously they haven’t returned by the time the whole heartbeat-test thing goes on, we never hear any word from the transporter operator about them coming up after that, and presumably no one would beam them up once they realized the ship was currently crashing. Kirk telling Finney that Jame is onboard “by now” is clearly a shot in the dark, but since Finney accepts this anyway, the whole venture becomes kind of a moot point.

While he’s narrating, we see Kirk climbing up a Jeffries tube, because, sure, he’s an engineer now, why not. His repair job seems to consist entirely of pulling wires out of the wall with his bare hands, but evidently it works because after a bit of shaking back and forth, the helmsman reports that power is returning. They’re able to activate the impulse engines again and stabilize their orbit. You hear that, Scotty? It’s all good. Put the phaser down.

Stone turns to Shaw and says, “Unless the prosecution has an objection, I rule this court to be dismissed.” Shaw says she has absolutely no objection. Stone doesn’t ask the rest of the board, but they don’t seem to have opinions on anything so it’s probably for the best.

Some time later, after everyone’s come back onboard and, presumably, Finney’s been led away to a quiet room somewhere, Kirk is on the bridge having a little soft focus moment with Shaw. She asks when she’ll see him again, and he says that depends on the stars. Poetic. Then she says that Cogley asked her to give Kirk something—a book. “Not a first edition or anything, just a book. Sam says that makes it special, though.” Yeah, well, he would.

Kirk says he didn’t have much chance to thank Cogley, since he just kind of walked off camera and never came back. Shaw says he’s busy on a case: defending Finney, and he says he’ll win, too. Oh yeah, sure. He did such a great job with Kirk’s trial, after all. I’m sure it’ll be a piece of cake defending the guy whom several witnesses heard confessing to his intent to crash a starship and everyone on it into a planet.

“Do you think it would cause a complete breakdown of discipline if a lowly lieutenant kissed a starship captain on the bridge of his ship?” Shaw asks. Oh lord, have you heard the kind of things that go on aboard this ship? A shirtless crewman bursting onto the bridge with a rapier is just another day in the life around here. Making out with the captain doesn’t even rank.

Sure enough, they kiss, and no one takes any notice. Shaw says goodbye, and Kirk wishes her better luck next time. “I had pretty good luck this time,” she replies. “I lost, didn’t I?”

She leaves, and Kirk takes a moment to put his best serious face on, then goes to sit down in his chair.

[ID: 1. Kirk sitting in his chair on the bridge, flanked by Spock and McCoy. Kirk is saying, “She’s a very good lawyer.” 2. Spock replies, “Obviously.” 3. McCoy adds, “Indeed she is.”]

Court Martial is kind of a...scattered episode. It doesn’t seem to know quite what to do with itself. We’ve got all this stuff about the computer, and about the nature of the computer as a witness, which seems to be building up to some big philosophical point. But in the end it all has nothing to do with anything. The computer log is just a piece of evidence which was tampered with, and there’s really nothing deeper to it than that. All of Cogley’s rants about the computer and elevating it above mankind etc etc all have nothing to do with anything, his attitude never gives him any helpful insight, and in the end the computer is used to help prove Kirk innocent without anyone batting an eyelid at the irony. Meanwhile, the whole story about Finney and his years-long grudge has to share time with this, but the themes of those two story threads don’t really have anything in common, so instead of complementing each other they mostly just take focus away from each other.

There was another scene in here that was cut, although I don’t think that one ever got filmed—originally, it was going to be mentioned at some point that while Jame was going through those letters she mentioned, some things her dad said made her realize it was likely he might try something like this, hence her abrupt turn-around towards Kirk halfway through. But we didn’t get that, and we didn’t get her appearing at the end. I think it would have made the story stronger if we had gotten those scenes instead of people talking about the computer so much. Or they could have gone the other way, and focused more on the drama about the computer instead of having Jame show up periodically for ultimately no payoff. Neither of those stories are inherently bad, it’s just that the focus is too divided to do either one justice. It’s not a bad episode, but I think it could have been better.

Trek Trope Tally: The climactic battle with Finney brings our Uniforms Unformed tally up by one, for a total of 5 counts so far. Next time, everything’s gonna be just :) in The Return of the Archons.