Insontis
is a Star Trek: The Original Series fanfic written by KCS. It has a sequel, Insontis II.
As part of a contract with the Insonti people, Captain Kirk is age-regressed. Now the Enterprise crew must keep their young captain out of trouble while helping him learn the lessons he needs to grow up.
This fanfic contains the following tropes:
- Affectionate Nickname: Spock sometimes calls Kirk pi'khartlan — "little captain."
- An Aesop: An important part of the story. Kirk ages as he learns the lessons necessary for each stage, so the crew tries to teach him as much as possible to speed up his returning to normal.
- Anger Born of Worry: Kirk berates Spock for using a faulty transporter (which left injuries that nearly killed him) to go after him.
- Asleep for Days: Spock is unconscious for three days following his trip through the faulty transporter.
- Baby Morph Episode: Part of the treaty was Kirk agreeing to age-regression.
- Black Mail: McCoy has a collection of embarrassing photos, including some taken during Kirk's regression.
- Blatant Lies: Spock alleges that his letting McCoy and baby!Kirk sleep cuddled together for another few minutes was "entirely due to their need for sleep", not because it's "adorable."
- Bring My Brown Pants: It is mentioned that Chekhov told Spock that some of his expressions "could make junior officers lose control of their bodily functions".
- Constantly Curious: Once Kirk learns to talk, he is "absolutely insatiable with questions."
- Continuity Nod:
- One of the security team mentions Spock's brain being stolen.
- Lt. Garrovick from "Obsession" and Lieutenant Riley from "The Naked Time" and "The Conscience of the King" make appearances.
- Converse with the Unconscious / Dark Reprise: "Catch a Falling Star and Put it In Your Pocket" initially appears when Spock and kid!Kirk bond over having heard it from their mothers as children. When Spock is unconscious, McCoy walks in on Kirk trying to sing it to him.
- Deadly Doctor: McCoy plays Dr. Darkness, a supervillain equipped with old medical equipment, during a game with Kirk.
- Distressed Dude: Spock plays Captain Sunshine's captive sidekick.
- Evil Me Scares Me: Spock goes into a brief Heroic BSoD when he realizes that it was his alternate-universe self who mind raped McCoy, horrified by the thought that he could be capable of such things in any reality.
- Fountain of Youth: The Insonti's, called the Regeneratron, is meant to help people learn life lessons through a second childhood.
- Full-Name Ultimatum: McCoy uses Kirk's full name for the first time when he turns two. "James Tiberius Kirk, we do not touch the laser scalpel!"
- Going for the Big Scoop: A tabloid reporter kidnaps the de-aged Kirk, heedless of the fact that 1) he was in the company of a Starfleet officer, and 2) his other guard is an extremely protective Vulcan.
- The Good Captain: At one point, Uhura invents a superhero persona for the de-aged Kirk called "Captain Sunshine."
- Hates Being Alone: At one point, McCoy is forced to leave baby!Kirk alone for twenty minutes due to a medical incident. He returns to find him sobbing in a corner.
- Head Desk: Spock wants to "impact his cranium with the nearest solid object" from the stress of dealing with the de-aged Kirk.
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Hilarious in Hindsight: Kirk and McCoy's discussion about how it would have been if the Regeneratron had been used on Spock instead is much funnier once you know about Insontis II, where that actually happens. - I Can Still Fight!: McCoy insists on running after Kirk when he escapes from his kidnapper, even though he's barely recovered from being drugged half-conscious.
- I Have Your Wife: The Klingons tell Kirk to come out of hiding or have is crew executed one by one, starting with Spock.
- Kid Fic: Spock, McCoy, and the others have to raise the de-aged Kirk.
- Mama Bear: Christine Chapel says that whoever kidnapped the de-aged Kirk "should be shot."
- Mind Rape: Spock discovers McCoy's forced mind-meld with the Mirrorverse Spock, much to his consternation.
- Not What It Looks Like: The Security team finds a video of McCoy threatening Spock; it turns out to be the two of them playing superhero with Kirk.
- Papa Wolf:
- Anyone who messes with Kirk can expect to face Vulcan wrath. In an early chapter, Spock comes in to find baby!Kirk sobbing as McCoy holds him. He gives him a look suggesting that "he'd just as soon kill him as look at him if he'd been responsible for causing Jim distress." In one chapter, Spock uses a faulty transporter to get to Kirk when a miscommunication results in him being taken as an ambassador to an alien ship. See also Tranquil Fury and Too Dumb to Live.
- Kirk himself becomes more and more protective of his crew as he gets older, culminating in his saving them from the Klingons in one of the final chapters.
- Prompting Nudge: McCoy, who is playing a role-play game with the de-aged Kirk, kicks the biobed he has strapped Spock to in order to get the Vulcan to say his lines.
- Psychic Link: Spock mind melds with McCoy, who then pretends to be willing to help the Klingons. This enables Spock to change authorizations without getting out of the brig.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: McCoy not insulting his alien biology indicates to Spock how badly he damaged himself going through a faulty transporter.
- Strapped to an Operating Table: McCoy straps Spock to a biobed as part of a game the two are playing with Kirk, in which Spock's character has been strapped down by an evil doctor.
- Take a Third Option: Scotty teaches Kirk this habit when he is torn between helping Scotty with the vital task of transporter board cleaning and obeying Spock's order not to touch anything. Kirk's third option is to watch and make sure it's done properly.
- Tickle Torture: McCoy / Dr. Darkness tickles Kirk / Captain Sunshine when attacked.
- Too Dumb to Live: In-Universe, this is the security team's opinion of an over-eager reporter who kidnapped Kirk. They are very aware of the consequences of angering a Vulcan.
- Tranquil Fury: Spock becomes coldly furious when one of their visitors performs a shirt lift on the eight-year-old Kirk.Spock was utterly expressionless, eyes devoid of anything but pure ice. That in itself was scary, because [the security team] knew that no one was as pure cool Vulcan as their Vulcan when he was restraining the urge to kill someone.
- We Have Ways of Making You Talk: McCoy's roleplay character, Dr. Darkness, tells Captain Sunshine's captive sidekick that "it will be much easier if you tell me what I want to know" — while handling fake torture tools.
