Kirk/Spock Advent Calendar 2006

The Good Goddess

by Charlene; rated PG-13
FB: charlene.vickers @ gmail.com
This takes place about three years after ST:TMP, more or less.
Note: December 4 was the festival of Bona Dea, or the Good Goddess, in Roman paganism. Look it up.

"I'm sure they do," Kirk replied. "Unfortunately, none of them are within fifty light-years of the Alpha Carinae system. Also, unfortunately, the mission requires a Level 9 security clearance." He leaned back and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Otherwise I'd have suggested Chapel and Uhura."

"I believe so," Spock said. "The modification of the shield generator requires a sound knowledge of communications engineering, and a member of the medical staff could identify the biomimetic compound as easily as a member of the science department. In fact, given her background in bio-mimetic research, Dr. Chapel would be the logical choice for the mission. Security clearances aside, that is." He pressed his lips together. "There is also the question of the modifications..."

Kirk let out a sigh. "I've already talked it over with Nogura. The Admiralty feels that the situation requires a high security clearance, and there isn't time to raise Chapel's clearance--or Uhura's, for that matter. I don't like it any more than you, Spock, but..." He frowned at the wardroom table.

"Jim," Spock started, "the modifications will be superficial. If you are uncomfortable-"

But Kirk was already shaking his head. "It's not that, Spock. Janice..." He waved a hand. "That was years ago, and this would be voluntary and, like you say, superficial. It's just that--my friend, they could have scoured Starfleet for a year and not found two less suitable candidates. By the way, I've advised Chapel of the, um, requirements. She'll be expecting us at 1300."

"I wish Dr. McCoy had not chosen to take leave at this time." The Vulcan squirmed in his seat slightly. "Although Dr. Chapel is a competent surgeon..." He raised an eyebrow at Kirk, who smiled at him.

"Better than competent; Bones says she's a better surgeon than he is. And she's been over you for years, you know that. She didn't marry Leslie out of pity. In fact," he said, his smile changing to an impish grin, "I bet she's looking forward to this. You may have to bribe her to change you back."

"Slowly, um, sir," she said, as she helped Kirk into a sitting position. "Your centre of gravity has changed."

"No wonder," he said, continuing to look down. My God, did she have to give him such enormous-

Just then Spock stirred. "Spock, just hold on a minute," Chapel called out before crossing to his biobed and checking the sensors. "All right; you're fine. Just don't sit up too quickly; as I was just saying to the Admiral, your centre of gravity will have shifted, although not as much as his. That's right, slowly," she said as Spock pushed himself up to his elbows.

"Did everything go as pla-" Kirk's eyes were suddenly riveted to Spock's face. "Chapel, what the hell have you done to him? He's-"

"The instructions were to make the two of you look as similar to Canopan females as possible," she said, handing Kirk a mirror. "The thoracic and superficial genital modifications were one part of that, but without feminized Canopan facial features you won't pass."

He looked into the mirror and took in his own transformation. Gone were his strong brow ridge, jaw line, and chin; even his nose was smaller, more delicate than before. He was startled to realize that (other than the Canopan forehead and cheekbone ridges and the tall, fluted ears) he looked just like his mother in his parents' 20th anniversary holo. And Spock...

"I did not anticipate the extent of the facial surgery," the Vulcan said in a surprising soprano lilt, his eyes on Kirk's face. "But you are correct, Doctor; if we do not pass, as you say, our mission is unlikely to be successful." He regarded himself in the mirror Kirk had passed to him. "I appear to resemble my paternal grandmother," he said after a moment's thought.

"I went into your personnel files and brought up pictures of your mothers, grandmothers, aunts..." She shrugged. "I compared them to your normal features and picked the one you looked most like. That way, the changes will look more natural, plus they'll be easier to revert once you're back."

Kirk held back a shudder. "An excellent job, Chapel. Don't take this the wrong way, but it's almost creepy."

She gave him a lopsided smile as she placed a bundle of clothing beside each man. "Can't say as I disagree, Admiral. What they were thinking of with this one..." She shook her head. "I'll be back in a few minutes to make the final adjustments to your vocal cords. Let me know if you need help with the clothing." She checked their vitals again before stepping into McCoy's office and closing the door.

Both men stood. "Disconcerting," Spock mused as he pulled off the sickbay pyjamas. He suddenly held up a piece of lacy white fabric. "Jim, what is this?"

Kirk chuckled at Spock's wondering look. "It's a brassiere. You've never seen one before?"

"I'll show you how to put it on." His brow furrowed. "Vulcan women don't wear them?"

"I am uncertain." Spock held the item in front of him as if it were a disturbingly deformed botanical specimen. "I fail to see the purpose of such an--apparatus..."

Kirk held back a laugh. Only a Vulcan would call a brassiere an 'apparatus'. "It's worn for support, and for modesty I suppose. Just put your arms through the loops. Like that. I'll attach it in the back."

"I hardly require support. Nurse Chapel has provided me with a modification somewhat...less prominent than yours." He gave Kirk's modified chest a look of pure disbelief. "I take it you are still able to stand up straight?"

"They weigh a ton," he replied, "but they shouldn't get in the way. I suppose they're more appropriate for my body shape."

He recalled the details of their mission briefing. The immense stone temple of Bog Horish--the Good Goddess of Alpha Carinae V--had been first built over 15,000 years ago; every five years since the beginning of recorded Canopan history, women from all over the planet had gathered at the temple, sent by their congregations to participate in the sacred rites of Kolchabi. Nobody (other than the celebrants) knew what took place during the festival; even though the planet was a member of the Federation, strict religious laws kept both men and non-Canopans from witnessing the ceremonies. Only adult female natives of Alpha Carinae V and their descendants were allowed to attend the rites, and none were allowed to speak of them under pain of death--or, worse, displeasing the Goddess. Even symbols of masculinity such as paintings or sculptures of males (of any species) were banned from the vicinity.

Starfleet Intelligence had obtained evidence from an informer five days previously that a terrorist organization dedicated to bringing down the Canopan matriarchy was planning to detonate a biogenic weapon in the temple during the main ceremonies. The Canopan authorities had been advised, of course, but were loath to do anything that would directly affect the ceremonies in fear of displeasing the Goddess, or at least the powerful chief priestess of the temple. They had instead asked Starfleet for help, which in turn had ordered the Enterprise to Canopus so that Kirk and Spock could infiltrate the ceremonies, locate the gel, and remove it from the site. The mission was complicated by the fact that the highly advanced bio-mimetic compound suspected to be at the heart of the weapon had almost certainly been stolen from, or supplied by, a Romulan laboratory; its very existence was a tightly-guarded secret, hence the requirement for a Level 9 security clearance.

Kirk thought it strange that the Canopan government appeared to be turning a blind eye to Starfleet's solution to the crisis. They had not asked how Starfleet was planning to prevent the disaster, nor did they take the irreligious but sensible step of cancelling the ceremonies. Kirk suspected that as long as the local authorities didn't actually order the temple to be desecrated themselves, they could pretend it wasn't happening. Plausible deniability, he thought; a tried and true strategy.

"Blessed be you," an older woman suddenly called out to them as they were carried along in the crowd. "This is your first calling?" she asked Spock, indicating his yellow robes.

Spock inclined his head and used the wording Intelligence had suggested. "Blessed may you be as well; this is our first, and we are honoured."

The woman smiled and put her arm around Spock's shoulders; the Vulcan stiffened, then consciously relaxed. "I envy you your enlightenment. The first time is always the holiest." She nodded towards Kirk. "Most glorious for both you and your wife to be called in the same year."

Kirk nodded with as non-threatening a smile as he could muster. "Amandi and I are honoured to be in the grace of Bog Horish."

They neared the sole checkpoint in between the main square and the temple square. He went over the security precautions (or what precautions there were) with a practiced eye. The temple, and in fact the entire city up to a distance of 27 kilometres from the central plaza, was protected by a shield that normally prevented anyone from beaming in or out of the general vicinity, but otherwise the only security he could see was the squad of women visually checking every entrant to the temple, ensuring all were truly Canopan and female.

Spock was speaking again. "We were advised not to bring refreshments. Will water be available at any point?"

"The priestesses bring in cold drinks for the worshippers," the woman replied. "When my grandmother was honoured to take part for the first time, they had tubs of water, but more recently the priestesses have changed to chilled bottles of electrolyte solution. You have undergone the fast?" she asked.

They both nodded, Kirk emphatically. "We've followed our abbess's instructions. We were just concerned..." and he indicated the crush of women in front of them. "It may be some time."

"Never worry," she replied. "Those who serve Bog Horish also serve Her worshippers."

"Can you locate the shield generator from here?" he murmured soon after he and Spock passed through the main temple doors, genuflecting in the manner of the rest of the worshippers.

Spock surreptitiously scanned the structure with the tricorder he had secreted in his hair comb as they walked towards the main chamber. "It is located close to the north wall of the temple, behind a stone barrier."

The vast room reminded Kirk vaguely of the Baths of Diocletian that had been reconstructed in the 22nd century in Rome. High arches decorated with gold and lapis lazuli inlay reached to the transparent ceiling above; the walls were covered in artwork; every corner held a sculpture; the floors were paved with intricate mosaics.

That was where the similarities ended, however; unlike the chaste halls of the modern Baths of Diocletian, the floors of the temple of Bog Horish were covered by hundreds, perhaps thousands of women of all ages, pigments, and shapes coupling in infinitely diverse ways. Nude priestesses walked among the writhing bodies, sprinkling water on the women from golden ewers and chanting prayers.

He was suddenly glad Chapel had temporarily blocked certain of his blood vessels.

"My God, Sp-" he said, barely catching himself. "-Amandi--are they doing what I think they are?"

"They appear to be engaging in intercourse, Tiberi," he replied, apparently fascinated by the exhibition. Lowering his voice, he continued, "It appears somewhat similar to a pre-Reform Vulcan fertility rite called the S'hal Mina."

"Good ladies, welcome. I see this is your first devotion," she said to Spock. "Are you disturbed by the idea of joining in public?"

"It would be slightly uncomfortable," Spock agreed, in the most exquisite understatement Kirk had ever heard from him. "Is it necessary?"

The priestess smiled warmly. "Not at all. The doors off the side lead to private alcoves. Most first-time worshippers are too shy to do anything more in public than perform the requisite kiss."

"Kiss?" Kirk repeated. Normally he'd be enjoying the look on Spock's face immensely, but they had to find that gel...

"The kiss is traditionally completed in front of the statue of Bog Horish and her companion. The line starts there," she said, pointing at a spot about 10 metres from the statue. "Once you kiss, one of our acolytes will escort you to an alcove where you may worship in private."

"I live to serve." She returned Spock's bow and went to speak to the next couple.

As they moved towards the spot the priestess had indicated, Spock said quietly, "We are wasting time."

"We have to fit in," Kirk replied. "We'll kiss, go to one of the alcoves, then as soon as we're alone we'll split up. Did you find any traces of the bio-mimetic compound in your scan?"

"Only a slight indication." He nodded towards a service area in the northeast corner of the temple. "The scan showed traces of the organic compound in that area."

Kirk observed as they joined the line and waited for their moment in front of the statue that Spock was much closer in appearance to most of the Canopan women than he himself was. The Vulcan's long face, patrician nose, and thin lips allowed him to blend into the crowd much easier than Kirk with his round face, pug nose (partly courtesy of Chapel) and more generous mouth.

It was finally their time. Kirk and Spock took their place in front of the statue; Spock pressed his lips to Kirk's with all the passion and emotion of a Level 4 tricorder diagnostic. Jim knew that Spock had to be humiliated; Vulcans didn't kiss in public, not in this way at least, and under the circumstances...

"If you will come this way," a young woman murmured at their side as they parted. Spock followed her, Kirk in his wake, as she led them to an open door approximately 100 metres up the east wall of the temple. She gestured to the doorway; they entered a tiny alcove barely large enough for the bed it contained. The acolyte closed and locked the door behind them.

Spock spotted the rear exit first. "If my tricorder readings are accurate," he said after a moment, "I should be able to reach the shield generator from this door without attracting attention. You will need to use the front doorway."

"I'll, um..." Kirk thought for a second. "I'll go get us refreshments. I noticed a number of drink coolers in the area you described."

They nodded, then Spock left via the back exit. Kirk waited 30 seconds, then unlatched the front door and exited the alcove, closing the door behind him.

He smiled. "I'd just like to get her a drink. We waited for some hours before arriving here, and being that we're from the arctic regions..." He held his hands up in a shrug.

The acolyte pointed him right towards where he wanted to go--the northeast corner. "You'll find bottled drinks in that area. If your wife requires medical attention..." She looked over to a table at which a woman in white was stationed. "I could ask the nurse to examine her."

"That won't be necessary," Kirk replied, trying not to speak too hastily. "We're both just a little thirsty. Thank you."

As he reached the northeast corner of the temple, he took in the hundreds of coolers filled with bottles of water and electrolyte fluid. Nobody would suffer from dehydration even in this hot weather, he thought as he looked around casually. Seeing nobody watching him, he reached down and snapped his own tricorder out of the left heel of this shoe. His scan showed definite signs of the compound, but where?

He looked again at the line of coolers. It was a cold day, and each container had been filled with ice, but--why was the ice melting so quickly in that one? He again made sure he wasn't being watched, then leaned in and scanned the cooler. No doubt about it, he thought as he read the screen; the bio-mimetic signal was coming from the walls and floor of the chest, probably where the insulation had once been. What was more, the false bottom of the chest contained a powerful detonator set to a timer, and if his tricorder was to be trusted time was quickly running out. He removed his other heel and opened the communicator inside it. "Kirk to Spock. Any luck?"

"My scan shows that the bomb's set to go off in less than five minutes." He couldn't keep the urgency out of his voice.

Kirk then called the Enterprise. "Uhura, I'll need you to transport an item about the size of a desk module into space. It'll be located directly under my communicator. Beam it at least 100,000 kilometres from both the planet surface and any spacecraft, including Enterprise. Spock's disabling the shields as we speak. Wait for my command."

He scanned the chest again. Thalmerite in the mix; that and the gel together could take out half the hemisphere. He tapped his foot for a minute, made himself stop, then spoke into his communicator again. "Spock," he whispered, "we only have forty-three--no, make that forty-one seconds..."

He held back a groan of frustration. An eternity of fifteen seconds later, Spock advised, "Shields are disabled."

He slapped the communicator onto the cooler and stepped back. "Kirk to Enterprise. Energize now!"

The transporter beam caught the cooler before Uhura's reply came through the comm system. Ten seconds later, a brilliant explosion lit up the night side of Alpha Carinae V; the thousands of women standing both inside and outside the temple sank to their knees and implored the Good Goddess for her protection. None noticed two of their companions disappearing in a shimmer of lights.

Kirk admired his face--his natural face--in the bathroom mirror, thankful that both he and Spock were themselves again in every way. "Chapel really does good work. She should think about going into plastic surgery."

He furrowed his brow. "You don't think the xenoanthropology department would be interested in a first-hand report on the Festival of the Good Goddess? I'd think that as a scientist your respect for the accumulation of knowledge would win out over another species' superstitious beliefs."

"Infinite diversity in infinite combinations does not only apply to physical matters, Jim," Spock said. "Cultural tolerance and acceptance is at the heart of the philosophy, and that includes religious tolerance. If the Canopans wish their ceremonies to be secret, they should remain so. I propose that we forget all that we saw during our time in the temple."

"I suppose you're right," he said with a sigh. "It's just--strange to me, I guess, that it had to take a sex change on both our parts to get you to kiss me in public." He took Spock's hand in his. "Some day?"

The Good Goddess

by Charlene; rated PG-13 FB: charlene.vickers @ gmail.comThis takes place about three years after ST:TMP, more or less. Note: December 4 was the festival of Bona Dea, or the Good Goddess, in Roman paganism. Look it up.

by Charlene; rated PG-13
FB: charlene.vickers @ gmail.com
This takes place about three years after ST:TMP, more or less.
Note: December 4 was the festival of Bona Dea, or the Good Goddess, in Roman paganism. Look it up.