This
collection
of flash fiction is mostly about Tim Kirk, and those he has
encountered. Some of these little scenes get included into larger
stories. If and or when they do I'll take them out of here.
Expect
little in terms of
profound truth or great plots. Some have a point, some don't, all will
tell you something if you listen.
The
timing for all of these
would be after The Long Patrol.
Down
Time
Tim
Kirk flipped idly though
the latest issue of "Captain's Quarterly". His wife was placing fresh
flowers on the dining table. He turned off his PADD.
**What
would you like to do?
We have the whole day and no call on us.**
**Starbase
does have some
advantages.**
**How
about a holodeck game?**
Tathilan
wrinkled her nose.
**I dislike those things.**
**You
do? We use the holodeck
all the time.**
**As
setting, as a way to get
to places we can't otherwise get to. I don't like the games.**
**Why?**
**Several
reasons. One, it's
rather like the puppet master interacting with the puppets. While I
don't have millisecond by millisecond control of the holodeck
computers, I am aware of what is going on. Two, they're flat.**
**Flat?**
**Tim,
you spent most of your
life not reading people. You don't expect it.**
**Yea,
and it still catches
me out now and again.** He blushed slightly thinking of the
Ambassador's wife.
**I
wouldn't have minded.**
**The
Ambassador would have
minded, a lot.**
**Then
it is just as well
he'll never know what wantonly randy thoughts his wife has.**
**You
were saying about
holograms being flat.**
**Yes.
I expect a certain
noise level from humanoids, with a few exceptions. Holograms don't have
that noise level. They don't feel alive.**
**So
they lack an element of
realism you expect.**
**Exactly.
The way you feel
about old fashion flat movies.**
**Anyway
to fix it?**
**Why
would we need to?**
**Maybe
telepaths want to
play holodeck games too.**
Tathilan
finished fluffing
the flowers. **You would need an RI to directly run the holodeck, and
be a literal puppet master, an actor behind the hologram masks. They
would have to be high psi rated to manage the trick as well.**
**Would
it have a market?**
**Well
it might be the reason
Betazed is a lousy market for holodeck games.**
**What
about Vulcans?**
**Vulcans
go to great effort
to not read people. Those that don't... I don't think I would like game
mastering for them.**
**Vulcan
perverts. Not a
concept I would enjoy.**
**They
exist. Vulcans are no
more perfect than anyone else.**
**It's
still not a concept I
enjoy.**
**Vulcan,
would prefer that
we never know about them.**
**I
don't know anyone proud
of what they consider their failures. Are there Ane failures?**
**Yes.**
**But
you don't like to talk
about them.**
**What
do you want to know?**
**What
kind of failures do
Ane produce?**
**The
annoying, and the
scary.**
**Annoying
and scary.**
**Usually
annoying or scary.**
**What
do I need to look our
for in the scary department?**
**You
shouldn't have to. One
has not gotten loose in a long long time.**
**There
is always a first
time.**
**Scary,
an Ane telepath that
does not follow the ethics that Ane practice.**
**Yes,
I would call that
scary. What do you do?**
**In
most cases deny them
access to the Express, and shun them.**
Tim
arched a brow. "That is
serious for an Ane. You don't talk to them?**
**Any
contact.**
**And
in the few cases?**
**They
are burned out.**
**Damn...**
**We
don't see many of those.
It has been several thousand years since we have seen one.**
**What
about annoying?**
**Those
that will not learn
other people manners, and insist on being around other people.**
**What
is left to deal with
them?**
**We
generally aid other
people in lessoning them. Break someone else's law or custom, pay their
price.**
**That's
it?**
**"That's
it" can be severe
at times. We try and sit on them and teach them a few manners. But you
get a few in every herd.**
**So
no big Ane vices?**
**Lack
of opportunity, or
lack of interest in what humanoids regard as vices. Drugs and drink are
a bad idea, and you never want to repeat the experience. Sex? That's
the national sport. Money? We have to hire outsiders to take care of
our financial business. Most of us don't get money.**
**No
vices at all.**
**Being
pushy about stories
is the biggest one. Annoying, like I said. Some very few fall into
materialism and comfort. These are generally harmless to all but
themselves so they are left alone.**
**So
no vices, other than
that?**
**What
is a vice? Usually
it's a moral rule, some times enforced by law, sometimes by community
pressure. We are not a people with a lot of rules. If you don't have a
lot of rules against what people want to do, you don't get many rule
breakers. Be it harm none, do as you will. It's
easy to live
by.**
**No
doubt those that like to
live by lots of rules would call you wicked as the day is long.**
**We
have had missionaries of
every kind trying to save our lost souls. I never lost mine, it's right
in the jar I left it in. What about the religion you grew up with?**
**The
Scottish Presbyterian
Church lost a lot of rules in the late 21st century. It was an elitist
bunch of bull in the first place. If John Calvin didn't invent sitting
on sticks, he raised the practice to a high art, holiness through self
loathing. The Kirk is more social club than moral rule issuing body
today. My parents never stressed the Kirk in any case. We spent so
little time at home.**
**Did
you ever study it?**
**Yes,
when I was sixteen I
got it into my head that The history of the Kirk was something I needed
to know. I never got through Calvin. Compared to him a warp drive
manual is a riveting adventure tale. I would recommend it as an
excellent sleep aid however.**
**Yet
you wanted to "stand in
the Kirk" for marriage.**
**It's
a ritual. We use
ritual to mark things as important. In any case your idea of Victoria
Falls was lovely. My Mother now considers you a hopeless romantic.**
**You
look good in a kilt.
Why don't you wear it more often?**
**It
isn't practical starship
dress. I wore it mainly for my Father. He takes the Scottish thing
seriously.**
**I
notice you spine
straightens when the pipes play as well.**
**Well...
yea. I think it
comes with the genes. Wearing kilts is not automatic with that
however.**
**You
still cut a dashing
figure in a kilt.**
**We
still have the matter of
how to spend our day.** Tim finished putting the PADD on the table. The
chron indicated a whole 5 seconds had passed. **I don't recommend
conversation, that doesn't take any time anymore.**
Down Time -- Garry Stahl, February 2005
Another aimless noodle.
This one could fit at any starbase after "The Long Patrol". Yes, I have
tried to read John Calvin. Drier than flash fried sawdust./p>
Back to Navigation
The Chase
The
pirate's corvette swerved
around the asteroid. The Kongo's helmsman started to follow.
"Belay
that" Barked Kirk.
"Heading 035 mark 0."
"Aye,
Aye. 035 mark 0."
"Ready
phasers."
Miritath's
claws tapped on a
tactical panel. "Ready."
Kirk
carefully eased back
into his chair. "He should come around oblique to us. Fire when you
have a target."
The
Kongo plowed on past the
massive body. Suddenly the little ship whipped around the asteroid
directly at the Kongo. Alarms sounded.
"EVASIVE,
EVASIVE!" Yelled
Kirk. Even as he spoke Lt. Horum was trying to lift the massive
starship with his bare hands. The little ship ducked under the Kongo
and into free space.
"Come
around, get on his
tail." Kirk slammed his fist into the command chair arm.
The
Kongo swung her massive
bulk exhibiting a grace no one was in the mood to appreciate at the
moment.
Half
way through her
evolution Miritath reported. "The target has gone to warp."
Kirk
flopped back in the
chair again. "Get after him." He sighed. "Unless than little pest has
something very special, that is the first mistake he has made today,
and his last."
The
Kongo completed her turn
and jumped to warp.
Kirk
checked the
tactical plot for the fifth time in as many minutes. The corvette was
still there pinned in Kongo's sights, loosing ground, slowly. Kirk
turned back to the work on his desk. It wasn't any closer to finished
than when he had started forty minutes ago.
**You
could always go back it
and fidget on the bridge.**
**Well
yes, there is that.**
**But....**
**Then
I would be fidgeting
in front of everyone. Captain's dignity and all.**
**That
isn't what's eating
you.**
**These,
people.**
**They
are people.**
**I
have never understood
pirates. Billions of people lead productive and peaceful lives, happy
lives even, and never lift a hand against their fellow sophants. Then
we have pirates. It doesn't pay well, few if any get rich, as if that
was worth anything. Most die violent deaths. Why do they do it?**
**You
are asking the wrong
person for answers Tim.**
**just
venting I guess.**
The
intercom chirped. "Kirk
Here."
"Long
weapons range in five
minutes Captain."
"I'll
be out."
Kirk
sat in the
command chair. The Kongo still closing with the pirate corvette.
Miritath
reported. "Long
torpedo range, we have a lock."
"Target
and hold. Open
hailing frequencies."
"Hail
open Captain."
"Captain
Masters, we have a
target lock on you, and the range is closing. I am accepting surrenders
today."
The
screen flickered to show
the cramped bridge of the corvette. Captain Masters and is crew lolled
around. Several were openly drinking at their duty stations. It looked
more like a party than a bridge.
"Well
and good oh Captain
Kirk. I do not think we are in the offering mood today." Several crew
shouted their encouragement. "Try your wares elsewhere."
"You
do not have to die
Captain Masters."
"No,
I don't, you could end
your pursuit, let us live free men."
"You
could have lived free
men, and not done violence on others."
Masters
got into the pickup.
"Save your sermons for your sheep Captain. Free men take what they
need."
"I
cannot agree with that,
not when it is easy to be free, and allow others to be free as well."
"Aye,
and you will shove your
peace and plenty down our throats, like it or not."
"My
only demand is that you
let others live in peace as they see fit, you have failed to do that."
"And
that is my choice. The
wolves have always fed off the sheep."
"And
that is your choice?"
"It
is."
"And
you accept the
consequences."
Masters
bowed low. "I always
have."
"Medium
range Captain."
Reported Miritath.
"Two
torpedoes, take him
down, we will close and board."
The
view screen shifted back
to the frontal view as the turrets spat a torpedo each. The Nightwolf's
warp bubble flared and died. The Kongo rapidly closed the distance.
Miritath
said. "Life boats
way Captain."
Lt
Solin reported. "They have
secondary containment failure, the whole ship has been flooded with
plasma and hard radiation."
"Medical
to alert. Close and
get any survivors off."
Kirk
tapped his
stylus on the table as his officers reported. Hanson was just finishing
up.
"All
the hostages and slaves
they jettisoned in the life pods were fine Captain. We didn't find
enough of the crew to identify who was who."
"What
condition is the Nightwolf in Felialan?"
**Junk.
They toasted the entire interior.**
"We'll
get the survivors back
to Starbase 424. We'll destroy the hull of the Nightwolf. Dismissed."
Tathilan
slipped in
beside him on the big recliner. Kirk continued to watch out the windows.
**Seeking
answers.**
**Yes.**
**Finding
any?**
**No.**
The Chase -- Garry Stahl, February 2005
Captain
Masters and his
ship are named in tribute to David Masters from the
Terok
Nor List. David bears the credit, or blame, for getting me my
first
web page up and running. While he hasn't done any maintenance on my
pages since he did the first coding. He did give me the push into
making my own pages. Thank you David. <
Back
to Navigation
Moving On
"12
years. That is all she
lasted."
"Well
Kirk, Starfleet wants
you in a new ship."
"She
isn't even going out
with a new crew?"
"No.
It will be up to fleet
disbursement to decide, but I imagine she is headed towards the defense
fleet of one of the Federation members. You do have a point, she does
have another good 40 years in that hull. Kongo is to be struck from the
lists Kirk. Technology has passed her by."
Fleet
Captain James T. Kirk
looked out at the gleaming sliver-blue beast pinned in the space dock
lights. "And this one?"
"Blue
Dolphin. Build for you
and the crew of the Kongo. Dual disodium HE warp core with an 18 light
year per day cruising speed."
"What
about the name? A lot
goes with a name."
"It
was over 30 years between
the 1710 and the 10455. We will not wait so long this time."
Kirk
stared at Admiral
Feldar, with his mouth hanging open.
"Close
your mouth Kirk, it is
unbecoming of the Captain's dignity 'USS Kongo NCC 101710'. She isn't
quite worthy of the 'A', but we wanted something special. The old girl
saved a world, too many people forget that. She saved mine." Admiral
Feldar gave Kirk a long meaningful look. "Bolia has not, will not
forget." He bounced on his toes. "The dock crew starts painting
tomorrow. I have the orders cut. When do you want the commissioning
ceremonies?"
"When
they finish the
registry."
Kirk
looked around
the massive rec deck. His officers and many of the crew stood decked
out in their number one uniforms. The bright work gleamed new. The new
ship smell was thick in the air. He laid the papers on the podium and
smoothed them with a gloved hand. They crackled softly. He raised his
eyes to the assembled company and read. "Fleet Captain James Timothy
Kirk, on this stardate you are requested and required to take command
of the USS Kongo, NCC-101710, to finish her fitting out, commission
her, and sail in pursuit of what duties you may be assigned. Signed,
Admiral Jon Luc Picard, Starfleet Command.
At
that moment bright lights
flashed outside the new Kongo as every ship in the dock flashed her
running lights to salute the first command of a new sister.
Every
ship but one. Alone and
dark the old Kongo was being striped of her bright Starfleet colors.
Kirk watched out the windows while officers gathered around to
back-slap and speak of the party to come. Tathilan slipped up beside
him.
**Regrets?**
**She
was special, our ship,
our ... home.**
**Life
in the fleet, change
is the only constant. We can make this one home as well.**
Kirk
smiled at his wife.
**Yes, we will make her our home as well.**
--The
Endless Quest
Continues!--
Moving On --Garry Stahl, July 2006
See,
I have this game. It
is an on line Star Trek thing I play with Jay P. Hailey
I
noticed that my work on the Kirk stories had dropped to nothing, and I
finally pinned it down. I wanted Kirk to have some of the new toys that
the STB-600 game had, but I genuinely like the Kongo. So I had to have
a new Kongo. Hopefully this will get my Kirk stories moving again.
Back
to Navigation
Mission Control
"Llama!"
He screamed.
I dived
back into the shelter of
the big rock as the animal lofted high into the air and landed with a
sickening thud some twenty meters from our location. I pulled my face
out of the dirt and found myself centimeters from T'liss.
"Perhaps
you can explain the logic
behind throwing farm animals at us? Who in their right mind uses a
replicator to make a catapult and dead animals?"
T'liss
quirked that Vulcan eyebrow
at me. "I am not assuming he is either sane or logical Lieutenant.
However it is effective in keeping us pinned here. Ensign Lantree's
injury is proof of concept."
Pedro
crawled over to join us. "It
usually takes a few minutes for him to reload. Why don't we get the
hell out of here."
"Where are
we going?" I asked. "We
have to wait for Simms and Carlos to return."
"Further
from this position would
be desirable Lieutenant. Said T'liss. "While replicated, the dead
animals will attract scavengers and fester."
"Yea."
Said Pedro. "What she said.
And as long as we have a ridge between us and him, Llamas are more
effective than phasers."
"Point.
Pedro, give T'liss you
tricorder. T'liss, rig the tricorder to show us here, and your own to
block scans."
Yes Sir."
"Llama!"
This one landed only five
meters away. It's gut split open and legs at impossible angles.
Simms and
Carlos trotted up and
ducked behind the rock. "Lieutenant, we got Lantree in the shuttle and
as comfortable as possible. She is trying to get a message out to the
Kongo through the interference."
"Noted.
T'liss?"
"I can
report or work Lieutenant."
"Work
then."
Several
minutes more passed while
T'liss programed furiously.
"Llama!"
This one landed further
out. The irregular nature of the ammunition was making accurate aiming
difficult, good for us.
T'liss
looked up from her work.
"Ready Lieutenant."
"OK, go."
We left
Pedro's tricorder as a
stand in and booked out from behind the rock. We were 100 meters away
when the next llama came flying over.
T'liss was
working with my
tricorder as well. "This way Lieutenant. I have his location
pinpointed."
Pedro
looked at me. "Why do we
want to confront this guy?"
"Because
he is guarding the gate
into the asylum that's why. We have to get in there and take control of
it, remember?"
Pedro
rolled his eyes
heavenward. "Why do we get all the good assignments."
"Just
lucky I guess." Pedro had a
point, it was one Hell of a first command.
Mission Control --Garry Stahl, February 2007
This was written as an answer to Jay Hailey's story challenge of "Write
a story with the first line of "Llama!" he screamed." The
above is the result. Yes, Kirk isn't in it, but I decided to
set it
in the Kongo setting. Why should the Captain get all the
"juicy"
assignments?
Back to
Navigation
In
the Park
Tim sat in the park. Sometimes
the
inside of any place felt too closed in. This was one of those times. He
knew it was Tathilan that was responsible for that. She was the
cause of the Ane traits that were developing in him. He tried to pay
attention to the report on his PADD. The distractions of the park
were not making that any easier.
In spite
of this it took him
several
minutes to notice the gaggle of boys that had gathered a respectful
distance from the bench. Three young men, they couldn't be over
ten years old each. Ten seemed an impossible reach into his past,
but he could remember being ten like it was yesterday.
They
seemed to be egging each
other
into a decision. Tim decided to call it himself. The report wasn't
getting read in any case.
"Can I help you
fellows?" He addressed
them directly.
For a brief moment
it looked like they
would run off, then the outspoken one stepped a little forward. "We
had a question ... Sir" Remembering his manners just in time.
"Well,
ask." Tim folded the
PADD and put it in his jacket.
There was
a bit of elbow nudging.
"Are you Fleet Captain James
Kirk?"
Tim
smiled. The pips read Fleet
Captain, and his name badge said "KIRK" in large standard
letters. Who else could he be? "Well fellows, the fact of the
matter is, I am."
The brave
one got a bit bolder.
"What
is it like to be a hero?"
Tim was
taken aback a bit. A
forthright question. Bold indeed. "I'm not sure I understand
fellows. What makes you think I'm a hero?"
"The
Holovids say you're a hero."
Chimed in the second boy.
"And our
Teacher told us all
about the Kongo and your missions when you came here." Added the
third.
"So you
have to be a hero."
Finished the first boy. "What is it like?"
Kirk
mulled the question for a
moment., He could see concern growing in their eyes. "Come
have a seat." He patted the bench beside him. "I'll try
to answer you, as best I can."
The boys
piled onto the bench and
settled down.
"I can't
say if feels like
anything. Do you know what a Hero is?"
"I do!"
piped up the second
lad. "A hero does heroic things!"
"Well,
that might be said. But
I'll tell you something. Something very important. A hero never
sets out to be a hero. A hero is someone that does what needs to be
done, when it needs doing, no matter how hard that might be."
The third
boy screwed up is face.
"Like taking out the trash?"
"Or
kissing a girl?" Added
the first.
"Well",
said Tim, "I
suppose that some thing might be a little more heroic than others. But
heroes are all around you. Flying around in a starship might
seem larger than life, but it mostly isn't. You spend months between
stops, finding things to do. It doesn't feel big and important most
of the time. The halls are like any halls, the rooms like any rooms,
and that is mostly what you see. They make starships to be as much
like home as possible."
"But you
do big things."
"We can,
but not always. What is
important are the little things we do. The mundane science, the
search and rescue work. Our most important job is being there when
people need us. And that boys is what heroes do. They are there
when they are needed."
"It
doesn't sound very exciting."
"Truth,
honest truth, it isn't.
Starfleet is necessary and
vital work. But most of the time it is
anything but exciting. And honestly, after having it be exciting,
you would rather it was not."
"You
would rather it wasn't
exciting?" The question was asked with all the credulousness a
ten year old could muster.
Tim
nodded. "Yes, because the
exciting times are when people get hurt, when your friends and your
family get hurt. And that isn't very exciting at all."
"People
get hurt." The
third lad was looking more serious than the other two.
"Yes, and
that is not what I
want."
"My Uncle
Julius was on a
starship." said the third lad. "One day Mom said his
starship was lost, and he wouldn't be coming home. I miss him."
"Yes.
That happens, that is why
we don't like exciting things. I have lost many friends over my
years in Starfleet. It is one of the hazards of the profession."
The boy
was wide eyed. "But you
still do it."
"We are
needed. And that is what
I do."
All three
had fallen silent. Tim
could hear the new thought turning in their brains. It was time for
a lightener. "Who has their school PADD?"
All three
produced their PADDs.
The
question of why was plain on their faces.
Tim
pulled his PADD out. "Well
the Kongo is in port for at least the rest of the week. Being the
Captain I do believe I can get your class a tour, if someone has
their teacher's address."
The
address was produced in
record
time. Tim thought a letter out and sent it quickly. "There,
invitation sent."
Wow
passed over the lot and the
first
two ran off to spread the news. The third stayed behind. He still
looked deep in thought.
"What is
it son?"
"Strange
things happen deep in
space. I've read that."
"Yes,
strange things can happen.
I've seen a few."
"If one
of those strange things
happens to be my Uncle Julius Mr. Kirk, would you tell him that His
nephew Jan misses him?"
Tim
looked deep into the young
man's
tearful eyes. "I can't say that it ever will, that wouldn't be
fair to you Jan. But I promise you this. I will remember."
"Thank
you sir." Jan turned
and walked away.
Tim
watched him go for as long as
he
could see him. Heroes are those that do what needs to be done.
In the Park -- March, 2008
I didn't know where this
was headed
when it started pouring out of the keyboard (4 AM of course, when I
would rather be in bed.). Kids have questions, and if you saw what
to you was a super cool adult in the park what would you do?
Back
to Navigation
Comments or questtons on this file? Mail Here
Download
A zipped Rich Text
Format version of this story.
Return to -- Epiphany
Trek: The
Stories
The Above is a work of fiction. All
characters
are
fictional, any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.
Copyright © Garry Stahl:
2004-2008.
All rights
reserved, re-print only with permission.
|