#sick uhura

[fastdrawfarmboy]

I do love that scene in the man trap where uhura chastises spock for not reacting emotionally to a dead crewman because it could be kirk and "he's the closest thing you have to a friend" all the while spock has spent the entire time since the death announcement looking like he's about to throw up.

[triumviiirate]

Star Trek: Living Memory by Christopher L. Bennett

[star-star-space-stuff]

When Spock contracts Betazoid flu, he loses control of his telepathic abilities. Fortunately, Captain Pike offers him to stay at his remote house in the mountains to recover. Unfortunately, the weather control system goes down and they get snowed in - right when his TA Nyota Uhura comes to visit Spock to talk to him about an important exam.

As the sick Vulcan’s condition starts to deteriorate, Captain Pike goes out into the storm to get help. Nyota stays behind and soon finds herself trapped with Spock - not just by the storm, but also by a shared fever dream. How will they get out?

[the-yearning-astronaut]

Well this episode sure is a lot darker and bloodier than I would have expected from SNW

[pommedefemme]

COME ON, PEOPLE

inspired by this post

[tprings-hair]

the interesting thing about journey to babel is that I legitimately can't tell who's having the worst day.

spock just had his parents show up to his work and embarrass him, briefly thought his dad was a murder suspect until his dad had a heart attack, and his mom said if he didn't choose his estranged father over his job then she'd never forgive him and slapped him.

kirk is trying to be diplomatic when all he wants is to smack everyone's heads together and yell PLAY NICE, and then he gets straight up stabbed and has to make decisions in a battle situation while he's in so much pain he literally can't sit straight.

mccoy gets a good childhood story about spock, but spock and sarek manage to corner him into agreeing to perform an operation he isn't trained for, and then he has to do it while losing his balance every couple of minutes, knowing that he might kill both his friend and his friend's dad if he messes up. and then his other best friend gets stabbed and he has to manage that crisis too!

sarek just saw his estranged son for the first time in years, got into a fight with another ambassador, got accused of killing said ambassador, was forced into displaying vulnerability and admitting that he lied to his wife, and then nearly died like twice.

amanda showed up wanting everyone to get along and instead her son is upset and hiding it badly, her husband is having a health emergency and hiding it badly, and she stands in the corner watching while mccoy is operating on both of them.

and okay, uhura and chekov aren't winning the "worst day ever" competition, but they're not having the best time either. the atmosphere on the bridge would be weird when your science officer is refusing to go help his sick father and your captain is literally hunched over in pain pretending he's okay to make clear-headed decisions. uhura gets yelled at when she can't find the source of the transmission soon enough for kirk's taste, and chekov -- actually, chekov gets to fire phasers this episode, and he seemed pretty pleased about it. maybe we can remove him from the list.

journey to babel is a spy drama, a medical drama, a family drama, and a murder mystery all wrapped into one. and nobody is having a good time.

edit: vote on who you think had the worst day here!

[myenterpriseisparked]

which captain, in your opinion, is most likely to come back from a class field trip with every attendee that signed up and which is most likely to have lost some along the way?

Okay here we go:

Archer: He lost Trip. Straight up. He's nowhere to be found (he wandered into the shark exhibit and made friends with the shark keepers and is now helping feed the sharks). The zoo has to call Archer before Archer realizes he is gone.

Pike: His kids keep wandering off but he knows them well enough to find them. He's exhausted and the bus returns to school 2 hours late because Uhura and Spock found some fun exhibits to look at, but everyone makes it home.

Kirk: All his students make it home but he does not. He got distracted talking with a museum guide about 1 interesting statue and waxed philosophical about it until the bus drivers got sick of waiting for him and left with the kids.

Picard: Try as he might to lose them, he makes it home with every student because they absolutely refuse to leave his side.

Sisko: All of his students make it home, but they are all slightly traumatized by the things they witnessed so are they really home? Can anyone every truly go home????????

Janeway: Would have lost Tom and Harry had it not been for the intervention of her co-teacher, Chakotay.

Freeman: She lost all of them except for Ransom and is 100% not going back to get them. They can figure it out.

Shaw: Got tired of everyone wandering off so he put his co-teacher, Seven of Nine, in charge.

[1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt]

***SNW SPOILER ALERTS***

This scene at the end of Lost in Translation of Uhura introducing Jim to Spock for the first time? *Chef's kiss*

The trio unite over their mutual disdain for Sam Kirk.

Jim has also been watching Spock playing chess across the room, as he reveals to Uhura:

Which reminded me of what his alternate version said in Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow:

"I used to play all the time with my first officer, till she got sick of losing. Been looking for a proper opponent ever since . . .

That old-fashioned, two-dimensional version, though, it's basically idiot's chess."

Jim was also well known for obliterating Spock at chess in TOS.

Get used to losing from now on, Spock.😂💚

[emonydeborah]

If the crew became kids

I doubt this is going to happen, especially because TNG already did it, but I would personally have such a great time.

An overarching theme would be Una's height because reasons, and because her talking to someone and suddenly having to look down at some child would be hilarious.

So some kidifying ray swept the ship, affecting them either one at a time or all at once.

Chris will not shut up about horses. He's swinging his legs on the biobed and chattering away. He accidentally interrupts and is so apologetic bc he never wants to be rude!!!! He wants to be friends!!! "Are we friends?" Spock has to look down at his captain/father figure and say "...yes. Chris." (Also Chris stares up at Una and says she's pretty bc he has more brains as a child than a grown man). He stares out at the stars with the biggest eyes.

Una the preteen is the same height as La'an and La'an is pretending not to be salty about it. They know she's Illyrian and she Freaks Out, and she and La'an have a talk about accepting themselves and not being defined by what others think that is more educational for La'an than for Una. What a gangly woman. She is out here constantly knocking things over, and the crew sees someone who had to grow into herself as much as anyone. Her default response is silence and big scared eyes but she can be tempted with some trivia. Erica spends hours showing her the flight controls.

Spock is a complete deadpan sassbucket and no one is prepared. the cute chubby cheeks. The bowlcut. His babysitters lose sight of him for sixty seconds and he disassembles a replicator because he heard a funny noise. Don't touch that. Why? *is touching it* They cannot make him believe he is in fact an adult and they're trying to fix him. "Mother says to find a mother with children and ask her for help if I get lost." Man asks Una for help because he's lost. Legend.

Uhura is such a little imp. Once she gets over being scared she disappears into the jeffries tubes. Her giggling echoes through the ship like the ghost of a demonic victorian child. Hemmer is down to let her roam but Una crawls in and drags her out. If any of the kids get a leash, it's Uhura. Erica distracts her with sweets. She needs to be occupied at all times or she will wander away.

Erica is the surliest eleven year old. Everyone expected her to be the easy child but she makes a point of being difficult. Una is tearing her hair out and Chris is like yes but have you considered. She is eleven. She's edgy and moody and everyone is like how did our Erica come from you. Una says she's the best pilot she's ever met and sits her at the helm and Erica stops her griping for a bit. She determinedly does not show interest but she does look at the buttons and subtly watch Jenna doing her job.

La'an has a lisp and sucks her thumb. Una insists she has to stay with her. For security reasons. Una has to go yell at people and La'an is holding her hand/on her hip the whole time. Everyone else is curious about little La'an but Una goes NO get your OWN. Little La'an wants hugs and cuddles and Una goes well if I must. For Starfleet. Chris does get custody for a while and he carries la'an around on his shoulders.

Christine and her big fat smart mouth. ackshually I read about this and you're wrong. Her sass is only matched by baby Spock. Grown Spock does not know how to handle it. This eight year old and her sassy little crossed arms leave everyone speechless with the sheer audacity. Joseph "don't touch that you'll break it" vs Christine "we use these at school all the time I know what to do" *breaks it* "... I didn't do that."

Joseph is the smiliest boy. He's having a great time. He follows Christine around and asks her about everything. Someone is in Sickbay with a sprained ankle or something and Joseph goes hmm. Looks like you're real sick. Do you have chicken soup here. He's the most charming little kid. Everything he does is cute. Everyone gets hugs and secret handshakes.

Hemmer, like Spock, takes stuff apart for the heck of it. Uhura tries to distract him by asking about Andoria and he could not care less. Man is tearing apart the EPS manifold and Uhura goes ...buddy let's not do that. Una says stop and he stops. All the deadpan blind jokes. Look away for two seconds and he is actively climbing into the warp core. What are you doing?!?!? Hemmer *shrugs*

Pelia is off like a shot all over the place. Talking a mile a minute. Young Pelia is such a foreign idea no one knows how to handle it. She's their wise old hermit and their wise old hermit is hanging upside down off the biobed. Now she's on the ground and her head hurts. Oh crap she's crying.

[heliads]

Read the pinned post and I'm so glad you're still taking requests for Star Trek!! I was wondering if you could do something for Bones with loads of banter and friends to lovers? Like they work together on the enterprise and are super close. They're always flirting and making fun of eachother, etc until one day R gets hurt and they both confess. I'm a sucker for sick fics/hurt comfort.

'Stay Safe' - leonard 'bones' mccoy

masterlist

There’s never a dull moment when you’re up amongst the stars.

At times like this, when everything is going south, it’s important to remember that you signed up for this. You were the one who decided that a simple life back on your home planet was too boring for you. You were the one who chose to put yourself through the most rigorous courses you could find in Starfleet Academy. You were the one who somehow thought that pestering Jim Kirk (that’s Captain to you) to let you onto the Enterprise would be the best possible career plan.

And now you’re the one finding yourself hurled into danger for what feels like the dozenth time this week. At least you’re not twiddling your thumbs, hoping for something to do, but at least boredom doesn’t get you killed. At this rate, with Jim’s latest half-mad plan to get you all out of the latest crisis, you have no idea if you can say that about your position on the Enterprise.

The Enterprise’s latest incident is going to take place in a few hours. There’s been a situation on a backwater planet where an escape pod from an imploding shuttle was accidentally stranded without any chance of rescue. Unfortunately, the travelers in the pod managed to crash land on a planet with a toxic atmosphere, so they’ve been forced to stay inside their pod lest they breathe in the poisonous gas. They’ve only got a short while before their life support systems give out, which is why it’s time for the Enterprise to step in.

The only problem is that this planet is way more hostile than original scans made it out to be. What was meant to be a one man mission has quickly unraveled into a far more complex plan. More crew members will have to be sent down, and you’ll need contact with the ship so you can quickly beam everyone up before they get hurt.

You suppose you shouldn’t be surprised to receive a summons to the bridge. You’ve known Jim for a while now, and in turn he knows that he can rely on you in dangerous times such as these. You’ve more than proven yourself capable of handling extreme pressure and risks, so your caution and quick thinking pay off by plunging you back in danger again.

Jim wants a group to travel down to the surface and retrieve the pod with its survivors. You’ll go along with Sulu, Uhura, and your captain, as all of you work well together and can handle tough situations like this. Jim gave you the option to stay back on the Enterprise, of course, he’d never force you into something as perilous as this, but this won’t be the first time that you’ve risked your life to save innocent lives, and it certainly won’t be the last.

Jim had known that, but he’d still smiled with obvious relief when you agreed to take part in the mission. “Glad to have you with us,” he’d said, clapping you on the shoulder, “Now, we’ve got to get moving, and fast. You’ll have to swing by the med wing to get cleared for surface interaction. Meet us back here as soon as you can so we can finish going over details before we head out. And thanks again, Y/N.”

You’d waved off his gratitude with an easy smile. This is what you do best, after all. You accept the risks and you take the challenges. All in a day’s work. Still, the more difficult part has yet to come. This planet’s atmosphere is no joke. Even a few minutes of unadulterated skin contact on the surface of that planet could burn away your skin. That’s why you’ll need to head over to the medical wing so they can decide you’re in good enough condition to risk it, as well as give you necessary supplements to provide some protection against the acidity of the atmosphere. Besides, it’ll give you a chance to catch up with a friend, and you’ve never turned that down, either.

Your footsteps are quick as you hurry out of the bridge and down the sprawling corridors towards the medical wing. It’s as busy as ever, with blue-shirted figures darting in and out wherever you look. Still, in all of their chaos and yours, you manage to locate the one man you’re here to see in record time.

Doctor Leonard McCoy, known to some as the most intimidating medical professional on the Enterprise and to his friends as Bones, has just finished sending one patient on their way when he’s confronted with the sight of another one. Unlike most of the invalids to cross his path, though, Bones doesn’t greet you with an unhappy harrumph, nor even a sarcastic comment about what you did to land yourself in the med wing. Instead, he almost smiles. 

“Y/N. Good to see you. I don’t suppose you’re here to help out or do something nice for me?” He says dryly.

You grin. “Afraid not, Bones. I need a favor.”

He arches a dark brow, crossing the room to replenish a container of syringes. “What favor? If it’s anything more than verbal, you’re going to have to join the patient waitlist.”

You wince. “See, I was hoping you wouldn’t say that. I need you to clear me for contact with the planet. ASAP.”

Bones actually stops moving for once in his life just so he can stare incredulously at you. “Are you out of your mind? I thought Jim declared any activity on that planet to be a risk to life and resources.”

“He did,” you admit, “but that’s why I’m joining the party. The more the merrier, apparently. Uhura says she wants someone down there with functioning critical thinking skills so she can balance out Jim. We’ll be fine so long as we stick together, but I need you to clear me first.”

Bones folds his arms across his chest. “So all I have to do to stop you from going into a trap this big is to just refuse to check your condition? Done.”

You pull a face. “Bones, I’m not kidding. We have to do this.”

“Neither am I,” he fires back. “This is a stupid move and Jim knows that. I’m not letting him lose half the superior officers of this ship all at once. You’re all going to get yourselves killed. Hate me if you want, sweetheart, but I’m keeping you alive. That’s what the medical officer is supposed to do, by the way, in case you forgot.”

You sigh. “I appreciate you looking out for me, but we have to do this, you know that. Besides, if you won’t clear me, I’ll just find someone who will. Would it make you sleep easier at night if you refused to take a look at me so I made an intern give me the meds I need to breathe down there? I’m sure they’d get the prescription right on the first try.”

Bones blows a sharp breath out, but when it becomes clear that you aren’t willing to back down, he purses his lips and relents. “Fine. You’re too damn stubborn for your own good, by the way.”

You crack a grin. “From you, Bones, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

He hems and haws while he runs the necessary scans, but when you walk out of the med wing, you do so with the perfect combination of supplements and injections to enable you to breathe the toxic atmosphere on the planet without dying. You’ll all be in thick suits anyway, but just in case, it’s important to take these steps to protect yourselves now. Hopefully, you won’t need them, but the downsides of skipping them are much worse than the inconvenience of a couple extra shots.

Bones makes sure to remind you of this before you go. He warns you to stay out of trouble, knowing full well that there’s no chance of that, but you nod along anyway. You glance over your shoulder right before you leave the med wing, and catch a glimpse of him staring after you, brow knit with anxiety. At this point, you have to return from this mission intact not just for your own good but his as well.

Jim and the others are finalizing the plan when you get back to the bridge. He feigns surprise when you walk in, although he can’t hide a broad grin. “Bones let you go that easily? Maybe he’s losing his touch.”

You arch a brow. “What does that mean?”

Your captain laughs. “It means he’s very protective of you. It’s cute.”

You make a face. “I didn’t think I’d ever hear you call Bones cute, and now I wish I never did.”

Jim rolls his eyes. “I’m just trying to connect to you, Y/N. I thought you’d agree with that. You two only ever spend time with each other anyway, aren’t you—”

He’s studiously interrupted by Uhura calling everyone to focus so you can get down to the planet as soon as possible. You don’t miss the pointed look she gives to Jim the second they think your back is turned, but you’ve been seeing a lot of those lately, and they only get easier to ignore. 

Contrary to what is apparently the popular belief on the Enterprise, you’re not in a relationship with Bones. It’s startling how many people here think you are, but you’re not. You’re just friends. No matter how many times Jim points out that Bones is oddly friendly and warm towards you, and offenses committed by Jim that earn hours of yelling only receive a small frown when you repeat them, the truth is the same. Jim may have a romantic goal for you and Bones, but it’s not happening. 

What is happening, however, is the mission at hand. After conferring for a while longer, you have Scotty beam all of you down to the planet surface. The ground underneath your feet is rocky and uneven, so you’ll have to be cautious. One bad spill could leave you with a torn suit, and even with your medical boosters, you want as little contact with the toxic environment as possible.

You and the others quickly make your way to the downed escape pod. Once there, you spread out, spreading a connective net between all of you before setting it on the ground and activating it. A temporary shield forms a dome in the air, sealing off the ground from the poison clouds floating low through the air. Once the life support cycles through, it’s safe for anyone without a suit to breathe. It’ll wear out soon though, especially while taking a continuous beating from the noxious gas outside, so you’ll have to move quickly.

You hurry over to the pod, knocking twice on the side before calling for them to come out. Slowly, a hatch on the side retracts, and five travelers come out, eyes wide and scared. Uhura hands them some suits, urging the victims to put them on quickly. They don’t need to be told twice, hurriedly pulling on the suits while you count down the seconds before you need to move again.

Although helpful when combating the toxic atmosphere, you won’t be able to beam up while you’re in the shield dome due to the energy signature currently keeping you alive. You’ll have to slowly let people out of the dome and hope that their suits stay stable long enough for Scotty up above to lock onto their signatures and safely retrieve them. 

One by one, the members of the doomed escape pod leave the safety of the dome. You watch them get beamed up one by one, listening to your earpiece to know when to send up the next one. Finally, the last of them is ready to be sent up, and you breathe a quiet sigh of relief. At last, an Enterprise mission that goes according to plan. 

See, you should have known better than to jinx it like that. It’s common knowledge around here that the moment you decide something is going according to plan, you’ll be proven wrong in a heartbeat, and the galaxy likes nothing better than to mess with all of you. 

So, of course, not a fraction of a second later than the time you think you’ll be alright, you notice a gap between the dome and the ground. The surface of this planet is rocky, you noticed it when you first landed. One of the escapees must have knocked into the dome generator while you were pulling them out. It wouldn’t have taken much to disrupt the field, not when it’s been fighting the acidity of the environment around you for so long. 

And, as you watch with horrified eyes, the toxic sludge from outside has already started to make its way in. All it takes is one drop. One drop, to start to wear away at the protective coating of the generators. One drop, to make its way inside the machinery. One drop, to cause a chain reaction that ends with the energy of the dome cycling back in on itself and exploding.

You have just enough time to shout for everyone to take cover before the thing goes nuclear. The last person stuck on the doomed escape pod is right beside you, and you fling your body over them to protect them from the blast. The impact slams into you a heartbeat later, knocking you to the ground. Your suit can take a beating from the toxic gas, but not a self destructing energy shield generator, and if it wasn’t already weakened from the blast, tumbling over sharp rocks is more than enough to tear holes in the side.

Instantly, the toxic gas rushes in. You scream out, feeling the poisonous fumes eating away at your skin. Everything is metallic and agonizing, the taste of copper radiating through your mouth. Somewhere in the background, you can hear Jim yelling for Scotty to beam you up now, but it’s hard to hear him distinctly when your vocal chords are taut in one constant cry of pain. You manage to endure another few seconds before blacking out, and although unconsciousness is always a bad sign when you’re on a foreign planet, your last satisfied thought before you pass out is that at least you won’t have to feel the pain anymore.

It’s quiet for a long time, dark and quiet. Peaceful, almost. You wake up slowly. It hurts to open your eyes because it’s so bright compared to the hazy blackness behind your lids, but it gets easier after a while. When you’re finally able to piece together the fact that you’re on a bed in the med wing, secluded from the main hustle and bustle so you can heal in privacy, you also realize that you’re not alone. Bones is sitting in a chair drawn up close beside you, head in shaky hands.

Bones. Oh, he must be irate. All those warnings about keeping you safe and then you went and hurt yourself like this. It wasn’t like you wanted to have your skin melted off by a toxic planet, but that’s how it goes when you try to save people. Bones, however, doesn’t care about the rest. He cares about you, as he’s put it plainly several times.

You reach over, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. “Everything alright, Doc?”

He jerks up, startled, although the panic in his eyes starts to abate when he realizes you’re conscious. “I think I should be asking you that. You’re the one who came back in a pool of your own blood.”

You wince. “How bad was it?”

“Very,” he says, and that one word contains with it the gravity of a lifetime.

You can imagine how it must have gone for him, then. Bones, biding his time up in the med wing, patching up patients to distract himself from not knowing what was going down on the surface of the planet. He would have told himself it would be fine because you said it would be fine, and just as he got halfway to believing it, Jim would have rushed through the doors carrying your unconscious, bleeding, actively diminishing body. What a ghastly scene.

“You patched me up pretty well, though. I don’t feel anything.” You tell him, mostly to try and lift that desperate look on his face.

Bones lets out a shaky laugh. “Yeah, well, that’s what a cocktail of painkillers will do for you. You’ll take a while to recover, though. I can’t stop that.”

From the way he keeps shooting nervous glances at your side, though, you can tell that he wishes more than anything that he could stop it. The two of you wait in patient, terrible silence, and then Bones gives in and says what he’s been holding back all this time.

“It’s just– Dammit, Y/N, I thought you were going to die. When they brought you in, you weren’t moving. Your heart was barely even beating. I can keep giving you pills and bandages when you need them, but that won’t be enough to bring you back from the dead. I can’t lose you, Y/N. I could lose the ship, I could lose the rest of the crew, I could lose myself, but I can’t lose you.”

Your breath is shallow in your chest, and not just because of the injury. “Why?”

“You know why,” he says, refusing to look at you.

“I want to hear you say it,” you tell him.

A silence. A drawn breath. “I love you,” he says at last, “I love you, Y/N. More than anything. Didn’t know it until I thought you were dead. Didn’t think I’d have to say it until you woke up.”

Bones is not one to beat around the bush, but he still waits a beat or too longer before forcing himself to look back at you. His eyes cut to you in one clean jerk, like ripping off a bandage. You’re not here to hurt him, though. Not anymore.

“I love you too,” you tell him. “Probably longer than you.”

“There’s no reason to make this a contest,” Bones chides you, but he’s starting to smile at last.

“Why not? Scared I’ll win?” You laugh.

Bones tries to glare, but the corners of his mouth refuse to tamp down into anything sober or serious. “Cut that out.”

“Make me,” you challenge him, and he takes you up on your word by leaning forward abruptly to kiss you.

Of all the things to make you go silent, that might be your favorite. It’ll take you a while to heal, but maybe it’s not the worst thing to be stuck in the med wing for a while longer. You and Bones have plenty of things to talk about in the meantime.

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[reigningqueenofwords]

Home

Pairing: McCoy x Reader Word count: 3,778 Warning: Tiny bit of angst

Read on AO3

You sagged as you looked at the clock. Another night without so much as seeing your husband. It had been 24 hours since he’d been home, and you missed him. The amount of times you had to pack up leftovers for him was nearing a full week at this point. Other friends were packing up snacks for playdates. You were packing up food your husband would eventually just take to work, and hopefully get time to eat. At this rate, you didn’t think you’d ever have the same type of life as your friends. You really did want a family one day, or at least a dog. But co parenting anything living right now would be a disaster. You’d be doing it solo, and you worked, too! 

As you went to get ready for bed, you checked your phone for the hundredth time and sighed. You had been with Leonard for a few years now, but you supposed you didn’t know what you were truly signing up for. Seeing nothing, you put your phone on silent and put it down. You had already showered so you got into bed for the night and found yourself wiping your cheeks. While you loved that he wanted to help people, you would have also liked to not feel single again. 

You had gotten together his last year of residency and he was constantly showering you with attention. While you didn’t need it constantly, you now felt you were not worth a text or call. Hell, he could shoot you a damn emoji at this point and it would mean the world. The last time you had a full conversation was at least a few weeks ago. Everything else had been interrupted by a page or call. Could you do this much longer? You’d only been married just over a year and you felt like you already lost him. You hugged his pillow tightly and tried to get some rest. 

Come morning, you needed a lot of coffee. You were tired, having not slept well. You were off that day, and didn’t know how to spend your time. You checked the fridge to get your creamer and your heart hurt as you saw some missing leftovers. Was Leonard here? “Leo?” You called out. When you were met with silence, you closed the door harder. He had come home and not even bothered waking you or leaving a note? You felt sick. Putting the creamer on the counter, you pulled out your phone to send him a text. 

Thanks for at least taking the food I cooked you, I guess. 

Part of you, a very tiny part, wondered if there was someone at work he liked so much he just had to get back. You had worried about that in the beginning since you weren’t in the same field. Your heart skipped when your phone lit up but it was only Uhura. Sniffing, you opened her text, contemplating asking to stay with her for a couple days. You tapped the table a little and decided to do that. 

Hi, are you busy tonight? And tomorrow? And tomorrow night? Can I visit? You hoped you didn’t sound completely desperate but you figured she’d understand. You continued on making your coffee as you waited for her to reply. 

Of course. Everything okay? 

Not great. Haven’t seen my husband in a day and a half. You typed out quickly. Thank you. You sent another, looking forward to not being alone. Want me to grab some lunch on my way over? 

Sure and I’ll pull out some drinks <3 Spock might pop in on his lunch break but he won’t bother us. She promised. I’ll see you in a bit. 

Running a hand through your hair, you transferred your coffee from a mug to a travel mug. Once you did that you went to get ready and pack. It didn’t take you long, and just twenty minutes later, you were pulling out of your driveway. Glancing in your rearview mirror, you teared up as you watched the house you bought with Leonard get smaller. It had been such an amazing day when you got it. You had pictured a couple of little feet running around at that time, but that image was fading. Your eyes shot to your wedding ring for a split second, then back at the road. 

Leonard finally came home at midnight that night, barely making it to the couch before he flopped on it and fell asleep. He had the next couple of days off and planned to rest, which is how he slept a straight ten hours. Finally getting up, he ran his hand down his face and scrunched his nose. “I need to shave.” He muttered. He shuffled to the bathroom to wake himself up, figuring you were still asleep as he didn’t smell coffee. He’d crawl into bed to hold you for a bit after.

Once he was clean and felt brand new he smiled and went to the bedroom. His smile fell when he found a perfectly made bed. He checked the time and had no idea if you told him you had plans. Walking out of your shared room, he went to the office to check the calendar. Nothing. He was starting to worry. He rushed to find his phone, hoping everything was alright. He called you as soon as he had it.

He bit his lip as he waited for you to answer, pacing a bit. His heart was hammering in his chest before he heard you pick up. “Baby?” He breathed. “You okay?” 

“Leonard.” You said simply. “I’m fine. I’m with Uhura.” 

“Oh.” He sighed in relief. “Glad you’re safe.” He sat down on the couch. “What time will you be home? I’ll order take ou—“ His phone beeped at him, making him pinch the bridge of his nose.  “Dammit.” He mumbled. 

You sighed. “Goodbye, Leonard.” Your voice cracked. 

“Wait. When will you be home? I’ll see what I can do.” He said quickly. 

“A couple days, probably.” You sniffed. “You probably won’t be home either way.” 

“Babe...I’m sorry.” He said gently. “It’s been a killer week. I know. Maybe for my next day off we go out?” 

“It’s been like this for weeks! You don’t ever have a damn day off! I haven’t seen you in three damn days !” You told him. “And you only come home for food. Which is fine but I would’ve been thrilled to be woken up by you.” You sniffled. “I don’t know anymore…” You said honestly as his phone beeped again. “I feel like the other woman. Go. Just… go.” You sighed. 

Leonard opened his mouth but you hung up. He sighed heavily and rubbed his face. He’d make it up to you. He had to. You were his wife, and he loved you so much. He’d have flowers sent over once you were home. It was a start, at least. Getting up, he groaned as he went to get dressed. 

You stared at the wall a day later, not believing you were actually thinking of separating from your husband. Nothing felt right. You stayed, and you broke your own heart. You leave, and you break both your hearts. But you couldn’t see yourself doing this everyday. Licking your lips, you got up off the guest bed that you were using at Uhura’s and grabbed your bag. You packed up your stuff slowly, mind racing. You’d be going home to pack up as much of your life as you could, and wait until he got home to tell him you were leaving him. 

You hugged Uhura tightly and thanked her for everything before leaving. She felt for you, and told her that you were always welcome there. The drive back to your house was short and you knew your mind was elsewhere. Your heart hurt, and it felt like someone was sitting on your chest. 

You were almost done packing your 4th box the following day when you heard the front door open. The living room had two suitcases and a couple boxes you’d managed the day before. Today you were more numb, moving on autopilot. You sighed as you stood and put your hands on your hips as you waited. This was not going to be fun. 

Finally, he walked through your bedroom door. “Babe, what’s with the boxes and suitcases?”  He looked at you, brow furrowed. 

You took a deep breath. “I’m leaving.” You said simply. “I’m going to stay with my sister while I look for a place.” You wiped a tear from your cheek. “I’m sorry.”

He blinked, not believing he heard you right. “What? Leaving? For how long?” He asked, as if he thought you’d be back. “A break? I didn’t know you needed one.” He was rambling. 

Licking your lips, you felt the tears really start. “For good.” It hurts like hell to say. “I’m not the love of your life, the hospital is. I’m basically a live in maid and cook at this point. And I’m not about to be a single mom.” You told him, sniffling. 

He stared at you. “No. I’ll fix this.” He quickly went up to you and cupped your face but you stepped back. “Please don’t leave me.” He pleaded. 

“You’re the one who left first.” You held your chin high, how? You weren’t sure. “I’m sorry, Leonard. The moving truck will be here tomorrow.” Your voice was shaky. 

He looked down. “You’re sure?” He asked, voice broken. “There’s no hope for us?” He looked back at you. 

You shook your head. “No. I thought things would get better, but we can’t even talk on the phone anymore without interruptions. I love that you help people, I do. I just never realized there wouldn’t be any room for me.” You hiccuped slightly from trying to hold back tears. “Which means there’s no way this can work.” There would be no little pink plus signs, no adopting a pet, no celebrating more anniversaries. Your future hopes were gone.

He deflated further. “I’m so sorry.” He said quietly. “I didn’t realize how bad it got.”

“You weren’t here enough to realize.” You told him. “We’ll worry about the paper work next week or something.” You knew that would be hell. “I do love you, Leonard.” You said softly. 

“I love you so much. Please rethink this. Take as long as you need but...come back.” He begged. It killed you to hear him like this, but you knew that if you stayed...nothing would change. You’d go days without seeing him, weeks without a proper conversation, you’d sleep every night alone, you’d wake up alone, and you just couldn’t mentally handle that. And neither could your heart. 

You simply nodded and looked back at your box. “I’m almost finished.” You said, hoping to end the conversation. 

He bit his lip. “I’ll always be here.” He said sadly before you heard him walk out of the room. 

You focused on your box, willing yourself not to cry again. When you heard the front door open and close, you took a break to hug your knees to your chest. 

Kirk opened the door and his eyebrows shot up. “You look like shit.” He muttered. “What the hell happened?” He asked as he stepped aside to let Leonard in.

He sighed heavily. “We’re separating. Well, she’s divorcing me…” He sat on his couch, rubbing over his face. “She’s packing now and I couldn’t just stand there and watch.” He gripped his hair in his hands. “It’s over, Jim.”

Kirk sagged slightly as he sat near his friend. “Shit, like over over?” When he nodded, he patted his back. “What brought it on?” He saw you guys as so in love. He used to tease him over how ‘grossly in love’ you two were. 

“My work schedule.” Leonard looked down. “These past couple weeks have been rough and I guess that was the final straw.” He shook his head. “She pointed out that the last real conversation we had that wasn’t interrupted was weeks ago. The last time she saw me before today was over three days ago. Hell, I called her yesterday and just as I was asking about getting takeout...my phone beeped. I was worried. I got up from sleeping on the couch and went to clean up. Went into my room to a perfectly made bed, but I couldn’t remember her having plans. I called her and when I asked when she was coming home, she said a couple days. I didn’t understand. Now I do.”

Kirk hadn’t seen his friend cry often, and watching him pretty much fall apart in front of him was hard. “I’m sorry, Bones.” He said gently. He wouldn’t voice it, but he could see where you were coming from. “Any chance she just wants a break?” He was hoping for that. 

He swallowed. “No.” He sighed, flopping back on the couch. “She said there’s no room for her, that the hospital is the love of my life, and that there’s no way it can work. I’m sure she mentioned something about papers next week. I’m guessing she’s serving me with divorce papers. For a divorce I don’t goddamn want.” 

“Well, you can stay as long as you need. I’ll get you some water.” He stood. “I know you love your job, but can you step down or something?” He shrugged. “I don’t know how that works.” He said before getting him a glass. “Do you have a contract or something?” He handed it to him. “Because I mean, I think in your shoes I’d rather be with her and jobless than at a job miserable because my wife left me.” He wanted you guys both happy, and it’s clear that neither of you were. “I always saw you two having kids and a couple dogs or something.” Was that another reason you were leaving? You wanted a family?

Leonard drank from it and nodded. “Yeah, I thought we would. She mentioned she was basically a live in maid and cook and she wasn’t going to add single mom to that list.” He stared at the glass. “I have a contract but maybe I could talk to someone.” He sipped the water. “When I called her and she hung up I thought starting to make it up to her would be by sending flowers. That’s not gonna do anything.” He muttered.

“No.” Kirk agreed. “She needs to really see a change.” He knew you meant business if you were already halfway out the house. “And it needs to be a big one, and fast. I don’t know how fast divorces go, but if papers are going to be worked on next week…” 

Leonard nodded. “The one day I have off.” He mumbled and pulled out his phone. “I’ll schedule a meeting with the boss people.” He sighed. “Not even sure what I’ll say but…” You were worth it. He let out a breath. “She loves that I help people, and that’s what I do. How can I be with the woman I love while doing what I love? It seems there’s no middle ground.”

The blonde nodded. “Yeah.” He rubbed his jaw as he thought. “I mean you can’t just cut your hours right?” 

“No. I get called in.” He told him. 

“Hmm. I don’t know. I don’t know which you’re willing to give up.” He said honestly. Kirk had known him for years. He was one of the most driven people he had ever met. 

There was a long silence. “I’m gonna quit my job. I’ll sell the damn house, and tell her we can move wherever she wants and I’ll find a job at a place I won’t be on call.” Even if it took him time to prove it, you were worth it. 

Kirk looked surprised. “Okay. As long as you’re happy. Not worth it if you hate your job and take it out on her.” He said simply. “Take the afternoon to think about the entire situation?” 

He nodded. “Yeah, alright.” He agreed, leaning back. “Thanks, Jim.” 

Sitting in your sister’s guest room, boxes surrounded you. This wasn’t your home, but even your home really wasn’t your home anymore, either. You were grateful she had room, but you knew you’d have to find your own place soon. You felt like you could just sleep forever at the moment. You hadn’t taken your ring off yet and you found yourself playing with it as you laid back. You knew it was unhealthy but you pulled out your phone to look at old pictures of you and Leonard. Back when he spent time with you. The first one that came up was from six months before. He had been trying to make you a nice dinner, but you kept distracting him because of how hot he looked in the apron. The picture was him looking at you sideways, cocking an eyebrow at you, trying not to smile.  Your heart hurt at the memory. Snuffing, you swiped to the next one, unaware that he was doing the same on Kirk’s couch.

It had been a few days and you were barely eating cereal, dreading calling your lawyer for the papers. You’d taken some personal time off work, which you knew couldn’t last forever. Your sister and her husband were off at work, leaving you in the completely silent house until right before dinner. You were sitting on the couch, staring at the fireplace when there was a knock on the door. You sighed, figuring it was a delivery or something. You went to open it, faking a smile. 

“Hi.” Leonard swallowed, holding out a bouquet of your favorite flowers. 

“Leonard.” You said softly, taking them automatically. “Thank you...but what are you doing here?” You asked, letting him in, chewing on your lip. “I’m surprised you aren’t at work.”

He came out with it quickly. “I quit yesterday.” He said softly. 

You stared at him. “You...quit?” You asked, not sure you heard him right. “The job you love more than anything? The one you basically live at?”

“I didn’t love it more than you.” He rubbed his jaw. “So I quit. It wasn’t worth it if I lost you to it.” His voice was soft. He really wanted to pull you close, but didn’t want to risk you pulling away. “And, I want to sell the house.”

You looked more surprised. “Why?” Your brain was still trying to catch up. “You love that house.”

“I do. But only with you in it.” He said simply. “I’m willing to move wherever you want. I have a list of places that I can practice at. As a regular doctor with regular hours.” He explained. “So I can be home, I can spend time with you, and I can work on proving to you that you mean more to me than anything.”

You stared at him, not knowing what to say. This was not close to what you expected to happen today.

He shuffled a bit. “Do...you need time to think about it?” He was really hoping things would go well. He honestly hoped you’d come home. 

“I’m just trying to process this.” You went to put the flowers in some water, thinking it over. The fact that he quit his job spoke loudly to you. It was just something that was so shocking that it was like your brain was trying to catch up to that fact. Once you stepped back in front of him, you eyed him. “Will you hate me down the line for making you quit the job you love?” You asked softly. 

“No. I’d only hate myself if I completely lost you.” He said honestly. “I could never hate you.” He offered his hand to you. “If I had to work some fast food job to prove that to you, I would.”

You bit your lip before taking his hand. “And you won’t have these hours anymore?” You asked. “No more not seeing you for days?”

“No more. I’ll have lunch breaks and evenings.” He tugged you gently, wanting to hug you. “I’ll get to sleep next to you and take you on dates.” 

“I really hope these aren’t empty promises.” You looked up at him. “Please don’t say all this for things to go back to how they were.” 

“I’ll prove to you everyday that I’m sorry and that I’ll do better.” He rubbed your knuckles with his thumb. “Come home. Please.” He pleaded. “We’ll find a new place for us, together.” This entire this was a huge stab to the heart for him, and a wake up call. “Even if that’s some backwoods town with 100 people. If that’s what you want, I’m there.”

You teared up again and found yourself burying your face in his chest. You gripped the back of his shirt, scared he’d disappear. He hugged you tightly, kissing your head as he kept mumbling ‘I’m sorry’s’.” He’d spend the rest of his life making this up to you. “I’ll come home.” You finally choked out. “I, uh, have a lot of boxes upstairs.”

“We’ll figure it out.” He rubbed your back.  “Have you had lunch?” He asked. “Or can I take you out so we can talk about where we’d like to go?” 

You nodded. “Pasta place?” It was your go to when you had hard days. It’d been that way since college. “And maybe tomorrow, when we’re home, we can cook dinner together?” 

He nodded. “Sounds perfect to me, darlin’.” He said gently. “I love you so much.” He’d told Kirk the day he met you that he’d marry you one day. It was love at first sight. 

“I love you.” You said softly. 

Leonard carried another box into your new farmhouse, smiling as he saw you unpacking. He set it down before going to wrap his arms around you from behind. “Hi.” He said cutely. “You look so peaceful right now.”

“I am.” You set down what you were holding and turned in his arms. “This place is so beautiful.” You’d found it on accident while browsing online for a birthday present for your sister. 

“More beautiful with you here.” He grinned and pecked your lips. “Like this place was made for you.”

“For us.” You smiled brightly at him, happy you had your husband back. You ran your hand through his hair, enjoying how he closed his eyes for a moment. “How about we finish getting the boxes in and cuddle for a bit?” 

“Sounds perfect.” He squeezed yo

[bonesfucker3000]

Just re-watched The Man Trap and my God I forgot how good that episode was-

Also I don't know if its because I'm sick or what but that episode was really funny for some reason- yes it was depressing seeing Bones having to kill his old lover but the other parts of the ep where so funny for some reason (or my cold made me delirious)

And my god...Bones trying to sleep wearing that tight black shirt...SMASHHHH

(I also squealed really loudly when I saw Sulu and kept saying MY WIFE whenever Uhura was in screen)

[yakkety-yak-art]

more Star Trek sketchessss I’ve been sick for like 3 months w nothing to do so nothing but Trek in my head rn

the second pic of bones in a big sweater is based off of this art by @forecast0ctopus

I imagine bones loitering around the bridge bcuz he’s there to tell uhura everybody’s business, and no one can ever pry prototype spock w/messy bangs and a chunky landing party jacket as Canon Young Spock from my cold dead hands

[boldlyexplorational]

Episode 28 "The city on the edge of forever"

What can I possibly say. This is one of those episodes... I mean, I've been warned. I've heard the stories... But this series has a way to surprise me ... In unexpected ways? Is that even possible?

I love how some parts of the episode are incredibly stupid without taking anything away from its tragedy. For example McCoy injecting himself by mistake is hilarious, I'm sorry, he's so professional all the time and then he makes this one catastrophic mistake. Not to mention the whole thing about Spock having a hard time blending in (the infamous beanie).

But then the concept is so sad and tragic, this woman who needs to die because times aren't ready for her. And the whole thing about "the dangers of pacifism". Honestly the idea itself is debatable, even - or especially - in the context of the late '60. I think I talked about it before, how fascinating to me, the way this theme of "accepting, even justifying, but not condoning violence" is so specific and nuanced, and it's often used in the series; they really try and at times succeed in making a good argument for it ... Although something inside says it can't be true, the "necessity of violence" I'm finding it stimulating to consider and place in context.

Ok let's lighten things up, let's talk Spirk. I'm not going to state the obvious, we all know the good quotes and moments. I will say Kirk sure touches Spock a lot in this one, and I'm always thinking they should just hold hands sometimes, just for comfort, they stand so close to each other anyways! Might as well! Just you know Platonically even!

And btw, I'll let you know, I'm an expert when it comes to Bi Panic and let me tell you James T Kirk is also an expert after this episode. Also verbatim from my notes on the episode: "he's always covered in dirt (Kirk)"

I appreciated how they were all there at the gate on the edge of forever, especially my girl Uhura. This small team of essential personnel embodies the heart of the Enterprise, what Kirk's fights for and what he considered leaving behind. it's nice that he finds them waiting, as a reward for the loss he had to endure for the sake of the future.

One more shout out to McCoy's sick makeup and interpretation, I thought it was very good. But try and not stab yourself with a needle next time.

All in all an iconic episode, I did not expect it to be so sad, but as with other episodes it was so dense with meaning and I love that because it makes your brain and your heart work for it.

[t0ast-ghost]

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home thoughts!!!

Love me some good ol’ treks and I know this is the one with the whales (which reminds me of hitchhikers guide to the galaxy)

Warning for spoiling the whole movie (don’t cry over spoiled movie if you don’t have to! Go watch it for yourself!)

Let’s get going:

- A LEONARD NIMOY FILM ?!?

- okay Harve Bennett. I see you in the credits.

- I like the Saratoga crew. Too bad they’re probably gonna die immediately

- HIII SAREK!!! God he’s hot I hate him so much

- “Personal bias! His son was saved by Kirk.” His son is also married to Kirk so…

- McCoy got to choose the name of the ship :))

- Kirk’s wearing the same shirt.. oh wait they all are nvm

- Spock on a rock

- Hi Amanda!

- “Spock, the retraining of your mind has been in the Vulcan way so you may not understand feelings, but as my son, you have them.”

- Amanda trying to tell Spock that his friends care about him so much that they go against what is logical and it mirrors how in journey to babel Spock was not willing to sacrifice the good of the many (the ship) for the good of the one (his father) so I’m wondering if they will have an arc for him realizing that sometimes you want the one and not the many

- I like the problems they keep having with projectors/videos. Or not exactly problems but in the beginning they had to ask multiple times for the video to stop playing and here they are just talking over the transmission in the background. It adds a sense of confusion and havoc that I think makes it delightfully more realistic

- The Bird of Prey is such a beautiful design

- “I did not wish to be shot down on the way to our own funeral.” lol nice Chekov

- Nooo Spock and Saavik don’t have the mentor/mentee vibes anymore :(((

- Kirk really wants Spock to call him Jim… he misses his husband :(

- Bones is right. And then he leaves Kirk with the “That’s what I thought.” And the entire bridge crew is just like ‘don’t engage, look away, the husbands are fighting but just don’t look.’

- The copy pasted Saavik and Amanda

- “Hi. Busy?” McCoy sliding over to Spock

- McCoy just say you’re happy he’s back. He misses his verbal sparring buddy omg

- “Forgive me, Doctor, I’m receiving a number of distress calls.” McCoy is SHOCKED like, ‘did he just purposely reject me???’ I’m crying

- sad! Your husband died and now he doesn’t want to fight with you!!

- hi bitch! (It’s Sarek)

- THEY PUT EYELINER ON CHEKOV!

- THE PROBE SOUNDS LIKE WHALES ???

- so the transmission is for whales. That’s cool.

- Uhura would make a sick DJ. She’s remixing the whale sounds

- “Bones, you stay here.” “No way. Somebody’s got to keep an eye on him.” He’s trying to look out for his husbands

- love sci fi that is like ‘sea creatures interacting with space hmmm yess I think it will’ cause if you think about it, there’s a lot of sea that is unexplored just like space (yeah I’m talking about HGttG again)

- SPOCK SAYS SAVE THE FUCKING WHALES

- McCoy DOES NOT want them to travel back in time

- HII CHAPEL HIIII

- The chaos in the control room with someone on the screen talking over everyone else in the room… perfection

- Sometimes Kirk sounds like Seth Macfarlane

- “You really gonna try time travel in this rust bucket?” “We’ve done it before.” “Sure. Slingshot around the sun, pick up enough speed and you’re in time warp. If you don’t, you’re fried.” “You prefer to do nothing?” “I prefer a dose of common sense. You’re proposing that we go backwards in time, find humpback whales, then bring them froward in time, drop them off, and hope to hell they tell this probe what to go do with itself.” “That’s the general idea.” “Well, that’s crazy.” “You have a better idea? Now’s the time.” Yep. That summarizes it better than I could ever. How McCoy stays married to this man is a mystery

- The command base hears that Kirk is going to time travel and PANICS

- “May fortune favour the foolish.” Good Kirk line

- The ship is actively falling apart

- They’re back in time!

- Sulu lore! he was born in sanfransico or however you spell it

- McCoy trying not to laugh at Spock’s little bandana. Kirk smiles for a second and then remembers himself

- THEYRE IN THE WILD! SET LOSE! Who let them roam free?!

- Winchell’s Donut House. Wonder if that’s still open. Or real. Damn, I want donuts.

- Kirk almost getting run over “Well a double dumbass on you!” And then he throws up his hands omg I love him

- They’re all slaying

- “The rest of you, break up. You look like a cadet review.” They’re all kinda lost tho

- Spock in the pawn shop is looking like, ‘those were a birthday present from our husband. Why would you give them away :(‘

- Kirk and his powerful skills of deduction. He won’t let Spock just infodump :(

- They’re all really good looking.

- UHURA AND CHEKOV TEAM UP! Something I didn’t know I needed (I need it)

- NO LITTLE RUSSIAN BOY! Don’t ask for directions from a cop to a nuclear weapons base in the 1980s!

- SPOCK NERVE PINCHING THE PUNK ON THE BUS LOL

- “No one pays attention to you unless you swear every other word.” WELL. Okay. I’m not offended. At all.

- Spock frowning at the whales dying on the screen

- “To hunt a species to extinction is not logical.” There’s a lot of times you think ‘Vulcans can be emotionless which could equal cruelty’ but looking at this, humans with emotions turn out more cruel because that is an emotion. We want and are greedy. It’s surprising that Vulcans are friends with humans because of just how much illogical carnage we have wrought. Anyway.

- Hey Jim. Where’s Spock?

- Kirk becoming more and more worried that he can’t find Spock. And then he turns around AND HES IN THE TANK.. this is why McCoy wants to come along. Jim cannot watch him well enough

- Spock’s ass can’t believe he went in there to mind meld with the whales

- Sopping wet Spock

- “The hell they did.” SPOCK SWEAR OMG

- “Can’t you remember?” “The hell I can’t.” I love him so much, he’s being a little shit, this is on purpose. I think writers should let him say hell and other expletives more often

- “Oh come on, Bob! I don’t know about you, but my compassion for someone is not limited to my estimate of their intelligence.” DID YALL IN THE BACK HEAR THIS???

- Uhura and Chekov on the beach with the seagulls

- Gillian’s got a “I ❤️ whales” sticker on her truck. I love her.

- “I think he did a little to much LDS.” I think Kirk meant to say Spock does LSD? I’m assuming?

- This lady just picked up two husbands trying to save the whales.. that’s very lucky for her

- “Are you sure it isn’t time for a colourful metaphor.” LET SPOCK SAY FUCK

- “You guys like Italian?” Spock and Kirk proceeding to fight by saying no and yes repeatedly is my favourite

- They’re just letting Scotty and McCoy roam around???

- I love McCoy and Scotty improvising together, and Scotty going off and getting upset

- “May my assistant join us?” “Don’t bury yourself in the part.”

- Sulu just gets to nerd out about helicopters

- McCoy sitting on any and all surfaces like it’s a chair. Scotty joining him.

- McCoy handing Scotty the mouse like he’s so proud of himself

- McCoy’s got his ✨dazzling✨ eyes on rn

- “We’d be altering the future.” “Well, how do you know he didn’t invent the thing.” Scotty. That’s not how time travel works.

- So basically McCoy gets Jim and Spock out of trouble but gets into trouble when he’s with Scotty

- THEYRE JUST LEAVING SPOCK IN THE PARK oh wait he’s going to the ship

- Get yourself a partner who would cry over whales

- “I’m from Iowa, I only work in outer space.” This man smh

- Oh no. Get Chekov out of there. Holy shit.

- “Must be the radiation.” He proceeds to throw the phaser at the guy and then runs out the door

- Gillian not afraid to slap Bob over whales

- Did- did Sulu steal a helicopter? Yes. Yes he did.

- Gillian sees Spock with his ears and eyebrows and she’s like ‘yeah makes sense’

- “Admiral, may I suggest that Dr. McCoy is correct?” Spock agrees with McCoy. 208 dead, 15 injured

- Gillian is surrounded by the polycule. She just wants her whales to be safe.

- McCoy is literally the best. He saw this person suffering and then immediately helped

- “Uh, excuse me, we’ll take that.” They steal the gurney and Gillian immediately hops onto it. I love her.

- “This woman has immediate postprandial upper abdominal distension.” “What did you say she’s got?” “Cramps” McCoy saw the security and went ‘Yep they’re stupid’ he didn’t even bother with a proper lie

- In an argument between a 20th century doctor and McCoy, I would bet McCoy any and every time

- I love when McCoy is just.. appalled at old medicine

- Chekov slowly regaining awareness and he lifts his head only for Kirk to push his face down with a, ‘not now, Pavel.’

- I like how the crew right now have been using Chekov’s first name and are protective of him.

- Sulu immediately being there to help Chekov get back on the ship 🥺🥺🥺

- This woman is so into whales that she would time travel for them

- Is McCoy sitting on the console and leaning over it to talk to talk to Spock? Yes, yes he is.

- “Well, then you’re just gonna have to take your best shot.” “Best shot?” “Guess, Spock.” “Guessing is not in my nature, Doctor.” “Well, nobody’s perfect.” He lets that last line drawl and then stares at Spock for a little too long. That’s flirting.

- That was the most intense countdown. I felt like something might happen to the whales within those ten seconds and I was worried

- “So I will make a… guess.” McCoy is rubbing off on Spock

- “No, Spock. He [Kirk] means that he feels safer about your guesses than most other people’s facts.” Hehe

- She was so happy just staring at her whales but then Kirk goes and interrupts that

- “I belong here, I am a whale biologist.” They are so lucky that they ran into someone THIS interested in whales

- McCoy resists the urge to just look at Spock when they’re travelling back to their time

- I like how there’s a hatch leading outside on the bridge… of a spaceship.

- forgot how hot Kirk’s poofy sleeves are

- They have a scene where everyone just gets absolutely drenched

- I’m so glad they didn’t have subtitles for the whales and probes. It’s more realistic for the universe. Starfleet doesn’t know what they’re saying, the crew doesn’t know what they’re saying, we shouldn’t know what they’re saying. It’s not how the universe works.

- They’re cheering for whales. I love when people cheer for things

- They’re all playing in the water omg this is adorable

- hi bitch (Sarek)

- Jim walks in with McCoy right behind him and Spock goes to join them from where he’s sitting

- I love Scotty’s little moustache it’s so :<

- McCoy is NOT listening, he’s got like nyan cat theme playing in his head

- THEY GAVE HIM COMMAND OF A STARSHIP FOR DISOBEYING ORDERS?!?

- I think McCoy should run up to Spock and Kirk and get them to kiss here

- Scott and Sulu arguing over which ship they think they’ll get <3

- McCoy is leaning so sluttily on the new bridge

The credits just showing pictures of each of the cast is adorable

See ya on the flip flop

Masterpost

[electronickingdomfox]

"Uhura's Song" review

Novel from 1985, by Janet Kagan. I have mixed feelings about this book. For starters, if you're looking for a story focused on Uhura, this isn't it. She plays an important role in the very first chapters, but then she goes to the background, and doesn't have more protagonism than, say, Chekov.

Anyway, misleading title and cover aside, there are good things about it. The culture of the Sivaoans (some kind of anthropomorphic cats) is well fleshed and described in detail. Little by little, we learn a lot about this people: their social structure and rites of passage, the importance they place on names and oral tradition, their linguistic quirks, taboos and legends, etc. By the last third of the novel, when the crew goes on a quest along the main Sivaoan characters, we've come to understand and care about them. So yeah, as an exploration of an alien culture, it's alright.

But on the other hand, there's an incredible amount of filler in this novel. It's about twice as long as the average TOS novel of this era, but a great chunk of it is just pages and pages of the Enterprise crew doing cute things and playing with cats. With little development in-between. The narrative has a tendency to overindulge in the most insignificant events. Sometimes, after several pages of this, I'd stop and think "Are they really STILL talking about that!? It wasn't so interesting to begin with!" Granted, the main mystery is engaging enough to keep going: I wanted to know what had happened between the Sivaoans and their distant relatives thousands of years ago; and I wanted to know how they'd find the cure for the plague that's at the core of the mission, and what had songs to do with it. Those things kept me going... but with a lot of struggle to wade through the fluff.

Another problem is the guest character, Dr. Evan Wilson, who's not just a doctor, she's a... (insert anything you can think of here). No, really, whatever you can do, be sure she can do it ten times better: she beats Sulu at fencing and Spock at computers, she's a better engineer than Scotty, she's the best friend of everyone and is impossible not to love her (including the Sivaoans), she will develop a new vaccine and then kill a dangerous beast with a spear in the same breath, all the time being "super funny". Even when she's not present, other characters' conversations tend to gravitate towards her and comment on how awesome she is. (For those that get "The Simpsons" references: she's a Poochie, literally). But it's not just that she's a blatant Mary Sue; after all, a Mary Sue may fulfill an important role in a story, provide the plot or be the key to solve a conflict. The main problem with Dr. Wilson is that I see no reason why she needs to be in the story to begin with. She just steals McCoy's role as chief medical officer, and doesn't offer anything that couldn't have been done by other character (like Uhura, for example). There's some mystery about her identity, but its resolution doesn't explain why she's important for the story either.

To summarize, this novel has an interesting premise, but would have been much better without Dr. Wilson, and cutting corners on the fluff. If you want to read an actual Uhura story, go get "The Tears of the Singers" instead... Unless you absolutely need lots of cats, I don't know.

Spoilers under the cut:

The Eeiauoans (some sort of cat people) are being ravaged by the worst outbreak so far of a deadly disease: ADF syndrome. Sick Eeiauoans start losing all their fur, bend in pain, and in the final stages, enter a coma and die. At first thought to be exclusive to this race, the disease starts propagating among humans, and Chapel is one of the first to fall sick. So while McCoy battles the disease planetside, Uhura tries to find a solution in the Enterprise. She's good friends with Sunfall, an Eeiauoan dancer, and suspects there are clues about a cure, hidden in the ancient songs that Sunfall passed to her.

Thus, Uhura starts working with Spock to analyze the songs. Some of them seem to allude to a different origin for the Eeiauoans, as if they were colonists or exiles from another planet. And Uhura believes the cure is to be found in their planet of origin; one of the songs mentions similar symptoms as ADF, but unfortunately, the part about the cure was cut out. Speculating about some astronomical references in the songs, they narrow down the search to a certain quadrant. But the Eeiauoans refuse to help, or even acknowledge this extra-planetary origin, as if they were hiding something. Finally one of them, desperate about her sickness, confesses that the planet's name is Sivao, which helps Spock and Uhura to pinpoint the place. And considering how difficult was this search, and how vague the references in the songs, they solve this part of the problem with relative ease.

McCoy is left with the medical team in the planet, so Dr. Wilson takes his place in the Enterprise. Once in Sivao, Kirk, Wilson, Spock, Uhura and Chekov beam down to contact the aliens. They're very similar to the Eeiauoans, suggesting a common ancestry, though their language is a bit different. And unlike the Eeiauoans, they still live as nomadic tribes. They're amicable enough at first, but as soon as Kirk mentions the Eeiauoans and the plague, they become really hostile, and refuse to talk about the subject. Just as happened with their relatives, the Sivaoans don't even recognize the existence of the others. Nonetheless, the crew stays with them for several days, in the hope that they reveal something eventually. Uhura trades songs with the local bard, Chekov builds shelters and plays with the kids, Wilson befriends Brightspot (the local chief's young daughter) and Jinx (a kind of outcast among her people). They also discover that the Sivaoans have perfect pitch when singing, and perfect memory of events, so they don't need books. But although some Sivaoans seem to be itching to help them, they still can't acknowledge the existence of the Eeiauoans. Besides, a description of ADF syndrome doesn't ring any bells with the town's doctor.

Meanwhile in Eeiauo, McCoy has contracted ADF too, but a new treatment developed by Wilson before her departure can slow down the symptoms, though it's not a cure. (And there's a big mood whiplash here, since Kirk and co. are having so much fun with the cats, while McCoy is having the shittiest time of his life...).

In the Sivaoan village, the crew finally gets one of the natives to speak, even if she can only confess it to the tricorder: two thousand years ago, their civilization split between a technologically-advanced one, and a tribal one; but technology and urban dwelling brought disease and the extinction of several species, so that part of the Sivaoans was forced to leave the planet, and establish a colony in Eeiauo. The two branches have tried to ignore each other ever since, out of guilt. However, if the crew wishes to learn more, they'll have to undergo a rite of passage to be considered real adults for the Sivaoans. So the crew, together with Brightspot and Jinx (who was ostracized for having failed the rite several times) go out on a quest. They need to traverse a dangerous part of forest to the nearest village.

For the following days, the crew fights against wild animals with primitive weapons, survive a fall into the river, and must take care of Chekov, who has fallen suddenly ill with ADF. It turns out that Chekov was specially sensitive to the disease, and he will die even before reaching the next village. Then Uhura decides to sing again the song about the cure, but this time varying the pitch, in case that makes Brightspot and Jinx recognize it. Effectively, one of the variations matches a Sivaoan song about some mild chidren disease. This way, they find out that this minor disease in Sivao, has evolved into the lethal ADF among other populations. Chekov caught the disease because he was playing a lot with the cat kids. Once they know this, Jinx quickly concocts a cure with local plants, and Chekov starts recovering.

After finishing the quest, the crew is able to confront the local chieftain as adults, and several Sivaoans choose to go with them to Eeiauo, to help with the cure (among them, Brightspot and Jinx). Everyone is cured and vaccinated, and it's time for Dr. Wilson to depart. Spock, who had grown increasingly suspicious about Wilson, starts investigating her records. And he discovers she's not the real Dr. Wilson, but some kind of "space pirate" or benevolent trickster, who goes around impersonating other people and helping here and there... Okaaay. In her last message, Wilson challenges Spock to keep searching for her across the galaxy (but I'm pretty sure Spock will have forgotten everything by the next novel).

Spirk Meter: 2/10*. There's the usual mind-link between Kirk and Spock, so the latter is certain that the Captain's alive after falling into a river. Kirk is often amused by Spock's idiosyncracies. And one night, he wakes up from a nightmare, to find Spock's "reassuring form" next to the fire. Also, Kirk teases Spock saying that "some of my best friends are devious- isn't that right, Mr. Spock?" However, there's only timid examples like these. Compared with other novels, there's not much more.

A bit of McKirk as well. McCoy is reaaally happy to have Kirk back in the end. And Kirk comes to a sleeping, sick McCoy (who's cuddling with the cat kids; you know, the ones that carried the infection... WHY!?), and wakes him gently to tell him everything about their adventure.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

Tagged: @agenderlessrat