Kirok of L'Stok
2011-02-26 13:07:18 UTC
Title: Winter's Rose
Author: Kirok of L'Stok
Contact: ***@trekunited.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG
Codes: Pike & Vina
New: 1/1
Summary: .
This is a fan written work. The copyrights & trademarks of Star Trek
are owned by Paramount Pictures, CBS Corporation and their licensee,
Pocket Books and any attempt to sell or rent this work should be
reported to the copyright owners for their action. The author reserves
the moral right to be identified as the creator of this work and any
original characters and ideas it contains.
After re-formating an article on audio dramas in the latest issue of
Hailing Frequencies Open, which is now available on Issuu HERE...
http://issuu.com/trekunited/docs/hfo-2.04
...I found I was a page short! I didn't want to mess with the existing
articles - I put a lot of work into getting things on opposing pages -
so I wrote a story for Valentines Day, 2011! The inspiration for this
story was the fact that, for the first time ever my wife gave me a
rose! Plus the fact that the focus of the issue was pre-TOS and we
already had an ENT short story - The Light by J. R. Gershen-Siegel -
so I worked up a flashfic of one of my favourite characters - Cpt
Pike!.
What little fan fiction I write these days ussually ends up on the
TrekUnited Fan Fiction, Art & Literature forum...
http://www.trekunited.com/community/index.php?showforum=224
... or in HFO. Hope I got the coding right!
Cheers
K
Winter's Rose
By Kirok of L'Stok
23:59 - The time on the desk's computer monitor marched inexorably
towards midnight as Fleet Captain Christopher Pike looked up from the
cadet grading reports he was trying to focus on. He would be finished
with this inspection tour tomorrow and be moving on to the next
Academy training vessel. Another Starfleet standard berth on a ship
that was not his own.
Brooding, he pushed his chair back and stretched. Who was he trying to
fool anyway by pretending to ignore the growing sense of expectation
that was building in the pit of his stomach? The desk monitor with its
Starfleet standard wallpaper showed the stardate but he recognised it
as February 13th in the old calender and he knew what would happen at
midnight.
He shook his head resignedly and rose from his desk, walking around to
the front where he stood, tense, knowing what was about to happen but
not knowing whether to embrace it or abhor it. Torn between his heart
and his mind, his breath started to come a little faster as the
seconds ticked off in his head until...
24:00 - With a blinding flare, the room was bathed in an eerie blue
glare coming from a single pinpoint of light in the centre of the
room. Instinctively Pike's hand shot up to cover his eyes even though
his mind told him from previous experience that the light would shine
straight through it. It was an illusion, and as his mind's eye
adjusted to the brilliance that was not there, he started to make out
the shape before him.
It was a rose, beautifully formed and suspended in mid air, just over
a metre from the floor, turning slowly, shining brilliantly. The
clarity of its light felt like it was burning his flesh away to leave
only... what? His soul? His subconscious desires? On this same night
of the year, for the past fifteen years, the same visitation had
occurred. At first he had tried to share it with others, to measure it
and identify it, only to be met with their confused and worried
stares. Only he could see it. This rose was only for him.
He knew what it was. He knew who had sent it. As a telepathic illusion
it was infused with the essence of one person. Vina, the innocent
young girl trapped through circumstances beyond anyone's control in a
perfect world of illusion made for her by the Talosians. Fifteen years
had passed since he had left her, choosing the path of duty and
reality, but every year she still sent him a rose.
A jumble of conflicting emotions fought for control within the
captain. As always his first reaction was one of anger that ship's
security should be so easily bypassed, that the masters of Talos IV
could confront him even here in his cabin. The death sentence that the
Federation had placed on landing on Talos IV was well justified, for
if anyone were to harness the power of these benign hermits as a
weapon then there could be no known defense.
They had the power to destroy empires, to control the destiny of
millions and yet they only seemed interested in vicariously
experiencing Vina's love for him. Humility was not something that
starship captains were known for, but seeing the power that their love
had over these potential masters of the universe was almost humbling.
Pike's hand reached out, almost of its own volition, as if to grasp
the rose, knowing that it meant a choice for his future. There were no
demands. This was not diplomacy, duplicity or duress. They were simply
saying, here she is, there you are what are you going to do? What was
he going to do? His Starfleet career was drawing to a close. He had
served with distinction, he had made a difference, he had helped
defend and strengthen the great dream of the United Federation of
Planets. Most men his age were retiring to enjoy a more conventional
life. A home, a wife, there was still time for a family even.
But not for him.
He closed his hand and pulled it back, rejecting her offer of love as
he had fifteen years ago. As he did every year. No matter how strong
his feelings for her – and he had come to learn over the years that
there was no one else for him other than Vina – he was held back by
his love of exploration, his desire to take part in the great game of
the galaxy.
24:01 - Just as quickly as it had appeared, the rose disappeared and
his world became a darker, colder place. For probably thirty seconds
he stood motionless, coming to terms with the emptiness, the void.
Somehow, he knew that would be the last time he saw the rose, that he
would not be given the choice again. He squared his back and stood
tall. The light was gone, the beauty was fast becoming a memory, but
there could be no regrets. The strength that made him such a great
captain started to reassert itself. You weighed the choices, made your
decisions and set your course: regret did not even enter into it.
Turning his back on the room, so achingly empty now, he sat down
before the scatter of PADDs on his desk. Was this to be his destiny, a
desk job?
24:02 – Without warning, the emergency klaxon broke into the echoing
silence, jerking him from his reverie.
“Red alert! All hands! Rupture in the port baffles! Delta radiation
leak! Seal decks...”
… but by this time the emergency instructions were bouncing off the
walls of an empty room. Fleet Captain Christopher Pike was charging
headlong to his destiny.
Cheers
K
Author: Kirok of L'Stok
Contact: ***@trekunited.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG
Codes: Pike & Vina
New: 1/1
Summary: .
This is a fan written work. The copyrights & trademarks of Star Trek
are owned by Paramount Pictures, CBS Corporation and their licensee,
Pocket Books and any attempt to sell or rent this work should be
reported to the copyright owners for their action. The author reserves
the moral right to be identified as the creator of this work and any
original characters and ideas it contains.
After re-formating an article on audio dramas in the latest issue of
Hailing Frequencies Open, which is now available on Issuu HERE...
http://issuu.com/trekunited/docs/hfo-2.04
...I found I was a page short! I didn't want to mess with the existing
articles - I put a lot of work into getting things on opposing pages -
so I wrote a story for Valentines Day, 2011! The inspiration for this
story was the fact that, for the first time ever my wife gave me a
rose! Plus the fact that the focus of the issue was pre-TOS and we
already had an ENT short story - The Light by J. R. Gershen-Siegel -
so I worked up a flashfic of one of my favourite characters - Cpt
Pike!.
What little fan fiction I write these days ussually ends up on the
TrekUnited Fan Fiction, Art & Literature forum...
http://www.trekunited.com/community/index.php?showforum=224
... or in HFO. Hope I got the coding right!
Cheers
K
Winter's Rose
By Kirok of L'Stok
23:59 - The time on the desk's computer monitor marched inexorably
towards midnight as Fleet Captain Christopher Pike looked up from the
cadet grading reports he was trying to focus on. He would be finished
with this inspection tour tomorrow and be moving on to the next
Academy training vessel. Another Starfleet standard berth on a ship
that was not his own.
Brooding, he pushed his chair back and stretched. Who was he trying to
fool anyway by pretending to ignore the growing sense of expectation
that was building in the pit of his stomach? The desk monitor with its
Starfleet standard wallpaper showed the stardate but he recognised it
as February 13th in the old calender and he knew what would happen at
midnight.
He shook his head resignedly and rose from his desk, walking around to
the front where he stood, tense, knowing what was about to happen but
not knowing whether to embrace it or abhor it. Torn between his heart
and his mind, his breath started to come a little faster as the
seconds ticked off in his head until...
24:00 - With a blinding flare, the room was bathed in an eerie blue
glare coming from a single pinpoint of light in the centre of the
room. Instinctively Pike's hand shot up to cover his eyes even though
his mind told him from previous experience that the light would shine
straight through it. It was an illusion, and as his mind's eye
adjusted to the brilliance that was not there, he started to make out
the shape before him.
It was a rose, beautifully formed and suspended in mid air, just over
a metre from the floor, turning slowly, shining brilliantly. The
clarity of its light felt like it was burning his flesh away to leave
only... what? His soul? His subconscious desires? On this same night
of the year, for the past fifteen years, the same visitation had
occurred. At first he had tried to share it with others, to measure it
and identify it, only to be met with their confused and worried
stares. Only he could see it. This rose was only for him.
He knew what it was. He knew who had sent it. As a telepathic illusion
it was infused with the essence of one person. Vina, the innocent
young girl trapped through circumstances beyond anyone's control in a
perfect world of illusion made for her by the Talosians. Fifteen years
had passed since he had left her, choosing the path of duty and
reality, but every year she still sent him a rose.
A jumble of conflicting emotions fought for control within the
captain. As always his first reaction was one of anger that ship's
security should be so easily bypassed, that the masters of Talos IV
could confront him even here in his cabin. The death sentence that the
Federation had placed on landing on Talos IV was well justified, for
if anyone were to harness the power of these benign hermits as a
weapon then there could be no known defense.
They had the power to destroy empires, to control the destiny of
millions and yet they only seemed interested in vicariously
experiencing Vina's love for him. Humility was not something that
starship captains were known for, but seeing the power that their love
had over these potential masters of the universe was almost humbling.
Pike's hand reached out, almost of its own volition, as if to grasp
the rose, knowing that it meant a choice for his future. There were no
demands. This was not diplomacy, duplicity or duress. They were simply
saying, here she is, there you are what are you going to do? What was
he going to do? His Starfleet career was drawing to a close. He had
served with distinction, he had made a difference, he had helped
defend and strengthen the great dream of the United Federation of
Planets. Most men his age were retiring to enjoy a more conventional
life. A home, a wife, there was still time for a family even.
But not for him.
He closed his hand and pulled it back, rejecting her offer of love as
he had fifteen years ago. As he did every year. No matter how strong
his feelings for her – and he had come to learn over the years that
there was no one else for him other than Vina – he was held back by
his love of exploration, his desire to take part in the great game of
the galaxy.
24:01 - Just as quickly as it had appeared, the rose disappeared and
his world became a darker, colder place. For probably thirty seconds
he stood motionless, coming to terms with the emptiness, the void.
Somehow, he knew that would be the last time he saw the rose, that he
would not be given the choice again. He squared his back and stood
tall. The light was gone, the beauty was fast becoming a memory, but
there could be no regrets. The strength that made him such a great
captain started to reassert itself. You weighed the choices, made your
decisions and set your course: regret did not even enter into it.
Turning his back on the room, so achingly empty now, he sat down
before the scatter of PADDs on his desk. Was this to be his destiny, a
desk job?
24:02 – Without warning, the emergency klaxon broke into the echoing
silence, jerking him from his reverie.
“Red alert! All hands! Rupture in the port baffles! Delta radiation
leak! Seal decks...”
… but by this time the emergency instructions were bouncing off the
walls of an empty room. Fleet Captain Christopher Pike was charging
headlong to his destiny.
Cheers
K