Black Fire (30 page)

"You were disturbed, Doctor?" Spock raised an eyebrow.

"You know I was, you son of Satan. Those pointy ears really fit, you know. And so does that Romulan uniform."

Kirk leaned back and inspected Spock. "He's right, Spock. That uniform doesn't look half bad."

"I'd rather it be Starfleet issue, Captain."

Kirk grinned. "I think we can arrange that."

"That would be appreciated, Captain."

Uhura appeared at the door. "Captain, a message from Starfleet."

"Why didn't you relay it over the intercom, Lieutenant? It wasn't necessary to hand carry it down here."

"Yes it was, Captain. Doctor McCoy shut off the intercom so you wouldn't be disturbed."

Kirk looked to McCoy, who shrugged and looked sheepish.

"What's the message, Lieutenant?"

"Commander Spock has been cleared of all charges. Explanation to follow. Prepare for towing operation to begin at 0800 hours." She felt like kissing Spock, but she knew it would embarrass him. Instead she greeted him with a warm smile. "Welcome back, Mister Spock. We've missed you."

5

Fully recovered and feeling wonderful, Kirk returned to his command position. He jauntily stepped onto the bridge, enjoying the sounds of his ship. "How is she going, Mister Scott?"

"As well as could be expected, Captain." He looked to McCoy and commented lightly, "Maybe the doctor has a wee bit o' tape ta hold the ship together for a short time. We can use all the help we can get."

"I'm a doctor, not a mechanic!" McCoy said adamantly.

He looked to Spock, grinned his most disarming southern smile, and added, "The only machine I treat is Spock. I do make exceptions in your case, you know."

He strode off the bridge looking smug, and returned in a minute carrying a decoratively bound book.

"Ya know, Spck," McCoy drawled, "there's one thing I never did before." He thrust the book at Spock. "You can do me a great favor, Spock. I never asked for a celebrity's autograph before. So, here's to new experiences. Would you sign my book of poems, Black Fire?"

He grinned with fiendish glee. "I always knew you were a pirate at heart, Spock!" Producing a pen from beneath his tunic, he handed it to him." 'To belong to this man of fire, if only for a moment'—'My flaming love.' I wouldn't have believed you had it in you. Pretty heady stuff, eh, Captain?"

He couldn't keep from laughing and neither could Kirk, who watched Spock lift an eyebrow.

Then, with a flourish worthy of Black Fire, Spock removed his iridescent black earring, placing it in McCoy's hand. "I'll do better than that, Doctor. A gift from Black Fire."

The black jewel gleamed its strange luminescence in McCoy's palm, but it was no match for the gleam in Spock's dark smiling eyes.

Star Trek®: The Original Series

Enterprise: The First Adventure
• Vonda N. McIntyre

Final Frontier
• Diane Carey

Strangers From the Sky
• Margaret Wander Bonanno

Spock's World
• Diane Duane

The Lost Years
• J.M. Dillard

Probe
• Margaret Wander Bonanno

Prime Directive
• Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Best Destiny
• Diane Carey

Shadows on the Sun
• Michael Jan Friedman

Sarek
• A.C. Crispin

Federation
• Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Vulcan's Forge
• Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz

Mission to Horatius
• Mack Reynolds

Vulcan's Heart
• Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz

Novelizations

Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Gene Roddenberry

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Vonda N. McIntyre

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
• Vonda N. McIntyre

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Vonda N. McIntyre

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• J.M. Dillard

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
• J.M. Dillard

Star Trek Generations
• J.M. Dillard

Starfleet Academy
• Diane Carey

Star Trek books by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

The Ashes of Eden

The Return

Avenger

Star Trek: Odyssey
(contains
The Ashes of Eden
,
The Return
, and
Avenger
)

Spectre

Dark Victory

Preserver

#1 •
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
• Gene Roddenberry

#2 •
The Entropy Effect
• Vonda N. McIntyre

#3 •
The Klingon Gambit
• Robert E. Vardeman

#4 •
The Covenant of the Crown
• Howard Weinstein

#5 •
The Prometheus Design
• Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath

#6 •
The Abode of Life
• Lee Correy

#7 •
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Vonda N. McIntyre

#8 •
Black Fire
• Sonni Cooper

#9 •
Triangle
• Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath

#10 •
Web of the Romulans
• M.S. Murdock

#11 •
Yesterday's Son
• A.C. Crispin

#12 •
Mutiny on the Enterprise
• Robert E. Vardeman

#13 •
The Wounded Sky
• Diane Duane

#14 •
The Trellisane Confrontation
• David Dvorkin

#15 •
Corona
• Greg Bear

#16 •
The Final Reflection
• John M. Ford

#17 •
Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
• Vonda N. McIntyre

#18 •
My Enemy, My Ally
• Diane Duane

#19 •
The Tears of the Singers
• Melinda Snodgrass

#20 •
The Vulcan Academy Murders
• Jean Lorrah

#21 •
Uhura's Song
• Janet Kagan

#22 •
Shadow Lord
• Laurence Yep

#23 •
Ishmael
• Barbara Hambly

#24 •
Killing Time
• Della Van Hise

#25 •
Dwellers in the Crucible
• Margaret Wander Bonanno

#26 •
Pawns and Symbols
• Majliss Larson

#27 •
Mindshadow
• J.M. Dillard

#28 •
Crisis on Centaurus
• Brad Ferguson

#29 •
Dreadnought!
• Diane Carey

#30 •
Demons
• J.M. Dillard

#31 •
Battlestations!
• Diane Carey

#32 •
Chain of Attack
• Gene DeWeese

#33 •
Deep Domain
• Howard Weinstein

#34 •
Dreams of the Raven
• Carmen Carter

#35 •
The Romulan Way
• Diane Duane & Peter Morwood

#36 •
How Much For Just the Planet?
• John M. Ford

#37 •
Bloodthirst
• J.M. Dillard

#38 •
The IDIC Epidemic
• Jean Lorrah

#39 •
Time For Yesterday
• A.C. Crispin

#40 •
Timetrap
• David Dvorkin

#41 •
The Three-Minute Universe
• Barbara Paul

#42 •
Memory Prime
• Gar and Judith Reeves-Stevens

#43 •
The Final Nexus
• Gene DeWeese

#44 •
Vulcan's Glory
• D.C. Fontana

#45 •
Double, Double
• Michael Jan Friedman

#46 •
The Cry of the Onlies
• Judy Klass

#47 •
The Kobayashi Maru
• Julia Ecklar

#48 •
Rules of Engagement
• Peter Morwood

#49 •
The Pandora Principle
• Carolyn Clowes

#50 •
Doctor's Orders
• Diane Duane

#51 •
Enemy Unseen
• V.E. Mitchell

#52 •
Home is the Hunter
• Dana Kramer Rolls

#53 •
Ghost-Walker
• Barbara Hambly

#54 •
A Flag Full of Stars
• Brad Ferguson

#55 •
Renegade
• Gene DeWeese

#56 •
Legacy
• Michael Jan Friedman

#57 •
The Rift
• Peter David

#58 •
Faces of Fire
• Michael Jan Friedman

#59 •
The Disinherited
• Peter David

#60 •
Ice Trap
• L.A. Graf

#61 •
Sanctuary
• John Vornholt

#62 •
Death Count
• L.A. Graf

#63 •
Shell Game
• Melissa Crandall

#64 •
The Starship Trap
• Mel Gilden

#65 •
Windows on a Lost World
• V.E. Mitchell

#66 •
From the Depths
• Victor Milan

#67 •
The Great Starship Race
• Diane Carey

#68 •
Firestorm
• L.A. Graf

#69 •
The Patrian Transgression
• Simon Hawke

#70 •
Traitor Winds
• L.A. Graf

#71 •
Crossroad
• Barbara Hambly

#72 •
The Better Man
• Howard Weinstein

#73 •
Recovery
• J.M. Dillard

#74 •
The Fearful Summons
• Denny Martin Flynn

#75 •
First Frontier
• Diane Carey & Dr. James I. Kirkland

#76 •
The Captain's Daughter
• Peter David

#77 •
Twilight's End
• Jerry Oltion

#78 •
The Rings of Tautee
• Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

#79 •
Invasion!
#1:
First Strike
• Diane Carey

#80 •
The Joy Machine
• James Gunn

#81 •
Mudd in Your Eye
• Jerry Oltion

#82 •
Mind Meld
• John Vornholt

#83 •
Heart of the Sun
• Pamela Sargent & George Zebrowski

#84 •
Assignment: Eternity
• Greg Cox

#85-87 •
My Brother's Keeper
• Michael Jan Friedman

#85 •
Republic

#86 •
Constitution

#87 •
Enterprise

#88 •
Across the Universe
• Pamela Sargent & George Zebrowski

#89-94 •
New Earth

#89 •
Wagon Train to the Stars
• Diane Carey

#90 •
Belle Terre
• Dean Wesley Smith with Diane Carey

#91 •
Rough Trails
• L.A. Graf

#92 •
The Flaming Arrow
• Kathy and Jerry Oltion

#93 •
Thin Air
• Kristine Kathryn Rusch & Dean Wesley Smith

#94 •
Challenger
• Diane Carey

Star Trek: The Next Generation®

Metamorphosis
• Jean Lorrah

Vendetta
• Peter David

Reunion
• Michael Jan Friedman

Imzadi
• Peter David

The Devil's Heart
• Carmen Carter

Dark Mirror
• Diane Duane

Q-Squared
• Peter David

Crossover
• Michael Jan Friedman

Kahless
• Michael Jan Friedman

Ship of the Line
• Diane Carey

The Best and the Brightest
• Susan Wright

Planet X
• Michael Jan Friedman

Imzadi II: Triangle
• Peter David

I, Q
• John de Lancie & Peter David

The Valiant
• Michael Jan Friedman

Novelizations

Encounter at Farpoint
• David Gerrold

Unification
• Jeri Taylor

Relics
• Michael Jan Friedman

Descent
• Diane Carey

All Good Things...
• Michael Jan Friedman

Star Trek: Klingon
• Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Star Trek Generations
• J.M. Dillard

Star Trek: First Contact
• J.M. Dillard

Star Trek: Insurrection
• J.M. Dillard

#1 •
Ghost Ship
• Diane Carey

#2 •
The Peacekeepers
• Gene DeWeese

#3 •
The Children of Hamlin
• Carmen Carter

#4 •
Survivors
• Jean Lorrah

#5 •
Strike Zone
• Peter David

#6 •
Power Hungry
• Howard Weinstein

#7 •
Masks
• John Vornholt

#8 •
The Captain's Honor
• David and Daniel Dvorkin

#9 •
A Call to Darkness
• Michael Jan Friedman

#10 •
A Rock and a Hard Place
• Peter David

#11 •
Gulliver's Fugitives
• Keith Sharee

#12 •
Doomsday World
• David, Carter, Friedman & Greenberger

#13 •
The Eyes of the Beholders
• A.C. Crispin

#14 •
Exiles
• Howard Weinstein

#15 •
Fortune's Light
• Michael Jan Friedman

#16 •
Contamination
• John Vornholt

#17 •
Boogeymen
• Mel Gilden

#18 •
Q-In-Law
• Peter David

#19 •
Perchance to Dream
• Howard Weinstein

#20 •
Spartacus
• T.L. Mancour

#21 •
Chains of Command
• W.A. McCay & E.L. Flood