Cannot. Stop. Writing. Mirrorverse.

Urg.

Based after 'Mirror, mirror' in the mirror-universe. Also written with "In a mirror, darkly," in mind, wherein the alien races of the Terran Empire were treated with extreme prejudice.

Disclaimer; I do not own Star Trek, nor any of the characters, technology, or other ideas therein. Furthermore, I make no money from this piece.


"In every revolution, there's one man with a vision".

Spock contemplated the words of the other-Kirk. They were true, he recognized. Very true. One man could change everything. He recalled the ascent of the first Hoshi Soto, her murderous reign - hadn't she changed the galaxy? And her predecessors? And all across history, people lauded not groups, but individuals, people key to momentous events. Yes, one man could change the future.

But then, he wasn't a man, now was he?

He was Vulcan. To the alternate-universe Kirk, this meant nothing; here, however, in the Terran Empire, he was a second-class citizen, nothing but another alien. His rise through Starfleet was unprecedented, and he had only achieved the rank of Commander. Even that was likely due to his mother's heritage, and he knew that there were those who longed to kill him for his impurity. Were he not so useful, he would be long dead already. As he had said to Kirk, he did not want command - he was too large a target already, without the admiralty deciding that the half-alien was a little too ambitious for their liking.

No, no, he could do nothing for them. He had no influence in the Empire, nor even on Vulcan. And the other-Kirk, despite what he had seen, clearly overestimated the rationality and compassion that existed in this universe, in others.

There could never be redemption.

But now, faced with that too-wonderful glimpse into the mind of other-McCoy, a glimpse at a near utopian universe, Spock found that he could not quite remain content in his own. And so after years and decades of yearning and sorrow, he finally did it.

He acted.

It was simple, really. Kirk had extreme trust in him - was still paranoid, of course, but he at least did not watch his First's moves so vigilantly as most starship captains. It was a simple matter to break into the captain's rooms through their shared bathroom, phaser in hand.

He found the device Kirk had mentioned - the deadly, mysterious alien tool - set the phaser to 'kill', and fired.

It disintegrated in a flash of light, leaving behind the scent of ozone and sulfur. Around him, red warning lights flared, and the very walls screeched at him.

"Unauthorized phaser usage, Captain's quarters! Unauthorized phaser usage, Captain's quarters!"

He looked up at the lights, feeling strangely serene, at peace to an extent which meditation had never reached. There was just one more thing to do.

He turned the phaser toward himself, and fired.

Finally, he was free.