The premise of Killing Time involves a Romulan plot that sent agents back in time to kill the people who laid the groundwork on Earth to unify the planet, leading to the formation of the Federation. They succeed, and as the subsequent wave of change passing through the space-time continuum approach the Enterprise, her crew have been having weird dreams. Dreams of another life. Then the change catches up with them, and their dreams become the reality, and their original reality, only dreams.
For some people this isn't a big deal. McCoy's life is virtually unchanged, for example. But Federation is now the Alliance, led by the Vulcans, and the Enterprise has a Vulcan name, and a Vulcan captain -- Spock. Kirk is a rebellious ensign with a drug addiction and a tormented past.
Jerry Richardson is the night-shift navigator in the original reality, holding the rank of lieutenant and a reputation as a would-be ladies' man. His nickname is "Romeo". In the new reality he's just an ensign, and he's part of the medical division, psychiatric sub-section. His nickname is still "Romeo", though. ;3
After Spock cottons on that Kirk's roomie is beating the crap out of him at every opportunity, he shifts him over to sharing quarters with Jerry. They get along much better (frex, when Kirk gets sent on an away mission, Jerry insists on lending him one of his blue duty tunics instead of the red one Kirk would otherwise wear, because redshirts seem to be unlucky).
Some of the Romulans, including the female commander from "The Enterprise Incident" who turns out to secretly be the new Praetor of the Empire in this book'verse, managed to keep themselves protected from the changes. They aren't happy with what they've wrought, especially since the dissonance of the change is driving everyone in the entire universe mad. For a whole bunch of reasons I won't go into, they need Spock's help. And to ensure his cooperation, the commander makes sure to get her hands on something she knows (from experience in the original reality) that Spock cares about more than anything: Kirk.
Since Jerry is Kirk's roommate, they both get kidnapped (and they fight back, and poor Jerry gets a broken arm). They are dumped on an unnamed desert planet, within walking distance of a water source, with a tent and a bunch of Romulan food rations. The labels of these rations read "S'latami" and "T'krouma", but there's no pictures, and neither of them has any idea what they might contain. About this time Jerry/"Romeo" starts calling Kirk "Juliet" instead of Jim.
Shenanigans, pon farr, and Romulan angst happen and then Spock rescues the boys and the three of them go back in time to stop the assassins, though they know that it will mean they will cease to exist. In the fight, Jerry is poisoned and dies even before the original reality reasserts itself.
At the end of the novel, the only ones who know what really happened (aside from a bunch of weird dreams) are a few Romulans, and Kirk and Spock. But people remember their dreams, so Kirk referencing t'krouma to Jerry is the Captain's sly way of letting him know maybe it wasn't a dream. And the extra rations are a reward for saving the universe.
The quote from Romeo and Juliet I used in the title is something Romeo says to the apothecary he bought his poison from; it's part of the suggestions for what to do with the gold, telling him to buy food and get fattened up and prosperos. I thought it was apropos, under the circumstances.
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Date: 2010-06-22 06:41 pm (UTC)For some people this isn't a big deal. McCoy's life is virtually unchanged, for example. But Federation is now the Alliance, led by the Vulcans, and the Enterprise has a Vulcan name, and a Vulcan captain -- Spock. Kirk is a rebellious ensign with a drug addiction and a tormented past.
Jerry Richardson is the night-shift navigator in the original reality, holding the rank of lieutenant and a reputation as a would-be ladies' man. His nickname is "Romeo". In the new reality he's just an ensign, and he's part of the medical division, psychiatric sub-section. His nickname is still "Romeo", though. ;3
After Spock cottons on that Kirk's roomie is beating the crap out of him at every opportunity, he shifts him over to sharing quarters with Jerry. They get along much better (frex, when Kirk gets sent on an away mission, Jerry insists on lending him one of his blue duty tunics instead of the red one Kirk would otherwise wear, because redshirts seem to be unlucky).
Some of the Romulans, including the female commander from "The Enterprise Incident" who turns out to secretly be the new Praetor of the Empire in this book'verse, managed to keep themselves protected from the changes. They aren't happy with what they've wrought, especially since the dissonance of the change is driving everyone in the entire universe mad. For a whole bunch of reasons I won't go into, they need Spock's help. And to ensure his cooperation, the commander makes sure to get her hands on something she knows (from experience in the original reality) that Spock cares about more than anything: Kirk.
Since Jerry is Kirk's roommate, they both get kidnapped (and they fight back, and poor Jerry gets a broken arm). They are dumped on an unnamed desert planet, within walking distance of a water source, with a tent and a bunch of Romulan food rations. The labels of these rations read "S'latami" and "T'krouma", but there's no pictures, and neither of them has any idea what they might contain. About this time Jerry/"Romeo" starts calling Kirk "Juliet" instead of Jim.
Shenanigans, pon farr, and Romulan angst happen and then Spock rescues the boys and the three of them go back in time to stop the assassins, though they know that it will mean they will cease to exist. In the fight, Jerry is poisoned and dies even before the original reality reasserts itself.
At the end of the novel, the only ones who know what really happened (aside from a bunch of weird dreams) are a few Romulans, and Kirk and Spock. But people remember their dreams, so Kirk referencing t'krouma to Jerry is the Captain's sly way of letting him know maybe it wasn't a dream. And the extra rations are a reward for saving the universe.
The quote from Romeo and Juliet I used in the title is something Romeo says to the apothecary he bought his poison from; it's part of the suggestions for what to do with the gold, telling him to buy food and get fattened up and prosperos. I thought it was apropos, under the circumstances.