Disclaimer: **Warning** This story deals with child abuse and self harm. If this is not the sort of story you want to read, please leave now.
This is not intended as a crude story about child abuse simply for the sake of child abuse. It is a difficult story to read, I understand that, it is also a difficult story to write. However, I feel that the subject needs to be written about.
If you wish to read humor Enterprise fiction, I have written some and there are many fabulous writers out there who specials in humor. Please do not read this then flame me. I do not own Enterprise, Trip, Archer or anything used in this story.
The title and parts of poem in this story are taken from Mlaa's "The Call Of Steel." A big thank you to my beta, "HopefulNebula" as always, and to "Mlaa" for being kind enough to let me borrow her poem.
Just to clear something up. I love Malcolm as well, 'K? After Trip, he's my favorite character. The reason why I did what I did to Malcolm was to give him more to do in this story.
So please, please don't hate me... we'll I suppose you can hate me if you want, just don't hate my story.
To keep it simple Charles Sr will just be referred to as Malcolm in this part. Okay?
Part of this chapter and the last chapter have been inspired by the DS9 episode: The Passager - season one.
~~~
The Call Of Steel.
~~~
Part 10:- Frenzy of the Mind.
~ ....release.....
....pain.........
....hurting.....
....people......
"The Call of Steel" by Mlaa ~
Trip jumped as if he had been shot. In one fluent motion, he moved away from both the chef and Malcolm, backing away as fast as he could, while still keeping his father in his sights. He bumped into something cold and smooth, realizing with an increasing sense of horror that he was against the bulkhead and therefore trapped. He gazed at Malcolm, a look of defeat in his eyes.
Through all of Trip's movement, Malcolm had been content to simply watch him, much as a scientist would watch a rat in a lab.
"Son." the single word was said sweetly and nothing could have sounded more innocent than the word 'son', yet there was malice and evil in the way he said that word.
"What's the matter Charlie? Not happy to see your old man?" he mocked, admiring his new body.
"I must say I like this arrangement better." he purred, moving over to his terrified son. "This way I can relive my life, and... punish you for your disobedience."
"You won't get away with this." Trip said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. Malcolm laughed.
"Really? I don't see anyone rushing in to try and stop me. Or maybe they're just hiding?" Malcolm mocked. He moved around the room, looking under chairs and speaking in a tone usually reserved for kids when they hide in plain sight.
"Where can they be? Are they under the table?" At the word "table", Malcolm lunged to it and peered under. "No? Are they... behind this chair? No, where oh where can they be?"
"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Trip voice rose steadily.
"You want me to stop it?" Malcolm whispered, leaning forward so that he could talk directly into Trip's ear. "Make me." He stepped back and stared at Trip steadily, for a few moments.
"No?" he asked in mock surprise. He pulled forward a chair and sat on it, his eyes never leaving Trip's face.
"How you been, son?" he asked. Trip's mouth fell open and he laughed a hysterical laugh. Malcolm frowned. He didn't like things he had no control over or things he didn't know about.
"How dare you ask me that?" Trip said, between hysterical gasps. "You raped my mind, just like what you are doing to Malcolm's mind, you know exactly how I've been."
"Rape?" Malcolm said, a confused look on his face. "I wouldn't call it rape. Doesn't a father have a right to know what's going on with his son's life? And if said son doesn't write, send messages or even admit he has a father then the father has to take matters into his own hands."
Trip shook his head and began to rock slightly.
"Stop being so silly. It wasn't rape. Is that what you told everyone?" Malcolm asked, a smile coming to his face. "Did you tell everyone that our little... secret was a violation? Charlie, my boy, you wanted it. You asked me for it."
"You're lying. I never wanted anything you gave me." Trip said in a small voice, looking at his hands, but not seeing them. Malcolm reached out a hand, to stoke Trip's hair. The engineer flinched and turned his head away. Malcolm froze.
"Why do you hurt me like this?" he asked. Trip looked up, his eyes red and swollen.
"Because I hurt too!" he said. "You satisfied Dad? You gain my fear but you lose me... and now... even if you hurt me again, even if you kill me it won't make any difference." he paused, a look of surprise in his eyes as if he had just discovered something important.
"I'm not afraid of you anymore." Trip half smiled, a twisted smile on the right side of his face as he repeated his words.
"I'm not afraid of you anymore."
Malcolm grabbed Trip by the shirt and pulled him to his feet, before slamming him against the wall. Trip limply let him fling him about.
"You made a mistake, Dad." he said sadly, not moving to try and brake free. "You made me face you and I realized something. I'm not some little kid anymore who doesn't know what's going on." Malcolm swung his arm back and slapped Trip hard, across the face. Trip face spun with the force of the impact but he made no move to defend himself. Malcolm stared at the other man for a moment before dropping him in a boneless heap and turning away.
"Was it worth it?" Trip asked after the retreating figure. His father stopped but didn't look back at his son.
"You think all this pretend control throws me, boy?" he asked in a cold voice. "You may not be afraid of me hurting you but one thing you seem to have forgotten is that I still have a phaser and your precious Captain."
"Leave him out of this." Trip said, panic leaking into his voice without him meaning it too. Inwardly Malcolm smiled, pressing home his advantage.
"Why? He's the cause of all of this! If it wasn't for him, none of this would have happened, you wouldn't have had the backbone to stand up to me." in one fluid motion he bent down and dragged Archer to his feet, his phaser digging into the older man's ribs.
"You always were spineless, son, don't try and change now." he spat, an ugly look on face."Apologize to me or your Captain gets a new hole in his chest." Trip's eyes sought Archer's, pleading, unsure of what to do.
"I..." he began. His dad pushed the phaser harder into Archer's rib's, making him groan slightly, a sound that could be heard, even through the gag.
"Think carefully." his father warned. Trip bowed his head.
"I'm sorry." he muttered. Malcolm smiled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. What did you say?" he asked, clearly taunting his son. He felt no pity, no empathy for his son, only the wish to control. His control had slipped somewhat of late but he would soon remedy that.
With Charles Sr. it was all about control.
Trip slowly pulled himself to his feet, using the wall as support.
"I said, I'm sorry." Trip said loudly. Malcolm smiled and pushed Archer to the floor, the phaser moved so that it was positioned directly behind his head.
"I don't believe you mean that. Say it again... and this time mean it." Malcolm said in a sing song tone. Trip ground his teeth and scanned the room, his eyes falling on... Archer's phaser.
It lay just under a table, where it clearly had fallen. If Trip could somehow get to that table he could - well he didn't know what he could do, only that he could do something.
"I'm sorry father." he said. His lifted clear eyes to meet Malcolm's own. "I only wish you knew how sorry I was." His father laughed, a laugh that set Trip's teeth on edge.
"That's better." he said, lifting his phaser and bring it down, hard, on Archer's head. The other man crashed to the floor.
"Do you know why I did that?" he asked. Trip began to slip round the side of the room, shaking his head. His father smiled, a superior smile.
"Because you have to hurt the heart." he explained. Trip had nearly reached the table now, he could see the phaser, just out of his direct line of sight. He forced himself not to look at it and instead watched his dad. He had the warily look of a man playing a difficult game. All it would take to ruin everything was one flicker to where the phaser lay, one glance and he would have betrayed himself.Trip moved nearer and nearer to the phaser, moving so painfully slowly.
"What are you doing?" Malcolm suddenly asked. Trip froze, like a deer trapped in headlights. Before he could answer there was a low groan behind him. The chief stirred, crying out in pain as he tried to move his leg. Trip acted on pure instinct, not allowing himself any time to think about what he was doing.
He dived forward the second Malcolm turned, his hands reaching out, fingers grasping at the cool metal of the phaser. Even as he fell forward, the phaser pointed upwards, Malcolm turned to face him.
In that moment time slowed.
His finger curled around the trigger, squeezing it. The phaser bolt erupted from the gun, a lighting flash of energy. Trip could see the air parting as the bolt slid past him and reached Malcolm. He heard Malcolm's scream then a thud.
Time sped back up.
Trip crawled forward to where Malcolm was writhing on the ground a phaser wound in his right arm. The other phaser lay a few feet away. Trip pushed it, sliding it across the floor and away from his dad. Trip stood up, fingering something in his pocket.
"I'm so sorry." Trip repeated and pulled out a small metal objet. Malcolm frowned at it then his eyes widened as he searched the armory officer's memory and realized what it was.
A miniature electrical device used in Engineering to make a small field of electricity. It could also shock a man and stop his heart. This certain one had done just that and if it hadn't been for the fast thinking of Dr. Phlox the man would have died. The device had then been turned off and Trip had added it to his 'To fix' list before forgetting all about it.
"You wouldn't."
"I'm sorry." Trip said, and turned on the device, dropping it. It fell through the air towards Malcolm. He could only lie there, his face registering complete surprise before it hit him.
Malcolm's body jerked once then went limp.
"Captain?" a worried voice called from the other side of the door. "Lt. Sato said you would be here, I'm afraid that the Commande-" the door opened and Dr. Phlox came in. He took the whole scene in at a glance.
"Malcolm needs medical attention the most." Trip said, falling to his knees. He stared in morbid fascination at the dead body.
"I... I killed him." he muttered.
~~~
"Goodbye Cap'n." Trip said slowly, a day later. He stood by the docking bay, where the Vulcans were waiting, his father's body already stored in the other ship.
"Tell Malcolm sorry for me, will ya?" he asked shyly. Archer nodded, not trusting himself to speck, a lump in his throat. T'Pol stood a little way away.
"Lt. Reed will be regaining consciousness in a few hours, Commander." she said. Trip nodded.
"I know, but I have to go." he said before turning and walking off the ship and maybe, just maybe out of everyone's lives. TBC...
There you have it! Please leave a review, just one more part to go.
Here's a teaser. :)
"What are you doing?" Archer exclaimed, Trip shrugged his shoulders philosophically.
"Starfleet only want the best. After everything that's happened and after everything that has been found out, how can I be the best?" he said evenly.
Coming Soon...
Part 11:- Light at the End of the Tunnel?
Review's wanted.
~Sethoz
This is not intended as a crude story about child abuse simply for the sake of child abuse. It is a difficult story to read, I understand that, it is also a difficult story to write. However, I feel that the subject needs to be written about.
If you wish to read humor Enterprise fiction, I have written some and there are many fabulous writers out there who specials in humor. Please do not read this then flame me. I do not own Enterprise, Trip, Archer or anything used in this story.
The title and parts of poem in this story are taken from Mlaa's "The Call Of Steel." A big thank you to my beta, "HopefulNebula" as always, and to "Mlaa" for being kind enough to let me borrow her poem.
Just to clear something up. I love Malcolm as well, 'K? After Trip, he's my favorite character. The reason why I did what I did to Malcolm was to give him more to do in this story.
So please, please don't hate me... we'll I suppose you can hate me if you want, just don't hate my story.
To keep it simple Charles Sr will just be referred to as Malcolm in this part. Okay?
Part of this chapter and the last chapter have been inspired by the DS9 episode: The Passager - season one.
~~~
The Call Of Steel.
~~~
Part 10:- Frenzy of the Mind.
~ ....release.....
....pain.........
....hurting.....
....people......
"The Call of Steel" by Mlaa ~
Trip jumped as if he had been shot. In one fluent motion, he moved away from both the chef and Malcolm, backing away as fast as he could, while still keeping his father in his sights. He bumped into something cold and smooth, realizing with an increasing sense of horror that he was against the bulkhead and therefore trapped. He gazed at Malcolm, a look of defeat in his eyes.
Through all of Trip's movement, Malcolm had been content to simply watch him, much as a scientist would watch a rat in a lab.
"Son." the single word was said sweetly and nothing could have sounded more innocent than the word 'son', yet there was malice and evil in the way he said that word.
"What's the matter Charlie? Not happy to see your old man?" he mocked, admiring his new body.
"I must say I like this arrangement better." he purred, moving over to his terrified son. "This way I can relive my life, and... punish you for your disobedience."
"You won't get away with this." Trip said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. Malcolm laughed.
"Really? I don't see anyone rushing in to try and stop me. Or maybe they're just hiding?" Malcolm mocked. He moved around the room, looking under chairs and speaking in a tone usually reserved for kids when they hide in plain sight.
"Where can they be? Are they under the table?" At the word "table", Malcolm lunged to it and peered under. "No? Are they... behind this chair? No, where oh where can they be?"
"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Trip voice rose steadily.
"You want me to stop it?" Malcolm whispered, leaning forward so that he could talk directly into Trip's ear. "Make me." He stepped back and stared at Trip steadily, for a few moments.
"No?" he asked in mock surprise. He pulled forward a chair and sat on it, his eyes never leaving Trip's face.
"How you been, son?" he asked. Trip's mouth fell open and he laughed a hysterical laugh. Malcolm frowned. He didn't like things he had no control over or things he didn't know about.
"How dare you ask me that?" Trip said, between hysterical gasps. "You raped my mind, just like what you are doing to Malcolm's mind, you know exactly how I've been."
"Rape?" Malcolm said, a confused look on his face. "I wouldn't call it rape. Doesn't a father have a right to know what's going on with his son's life? And if said son doesn't write, send messages or even admit he has a father then the father has to take matters into his own hands."
Trip shook his head and began to rock slightly.
"Stop being so silly. It wasn't rape. Is that what you told everyone?" Malcolm asked, a smile coming to his face. "Did you tell everyone that our little... secret was a violation? Charlie, my boy, you wanted it. You asked me for it."
"You're lying. I never wanted anything you gave me." Trip said in a small voice, looking at his hands, but not seeing them. Malcolm reached out a hand, to stoke Trip's hair. The engineer flinched and turned his head away. Malcolm froze.
"Why do you hurt me like this?" he asked. Trip looked up, his eyes red and swollen.
"Because I hurt too!" he said. "You satisfied Dad? You gain my fear but you lose me... and now... even if you hurt me again, even if you kill me it won't make any difference." he paused, a look of surprise in his eyes as if he had just discovered something important.
"I'm not afraid of you anymore." Trip half smiled, a twisted smile on the right side of his face as he repeated his words.
"I'm not afraid of you anymore."
Malcolm grabbed Trip by the shirt and pulled him to his feet, before slamming him against the wall. Trip limply let him fling him about.
"You made a mistake, Dad." he said sadly, not moving to try and brake free. "You made me face you and I realized something. I'm not some little kid anymore who doesn't know what's going on." Malcolm swung his arm back and slapped Trip hard, across the face. Trip face spun with the force of the impact but he made no move to defend himself. Malcolm stared at the other man for a moment before dropping him in a boneless heap and turning away.
"Was it worth it?" Trip asked after the retreating figure. His father stopped but didn't look back at his son.
"You think all this pretend control throws me, boy?" he asked in a cold voice. "You may not be afraid of me hurting you but one thing you seem to have forgotten is that I still have a phaser and your precious Captain."
"Leave him out of this." Trip said, panic leaking into his voice without him meaning it too. Inwardly Malcolm smiled, pressing home his advantage.
"Why? He's the cause of all of this! If it wasn't for him, none of this would have happened, you wouldn't have had the backbone to stand up to me." in one fluid motion he bent down and dragged Archer to his feet, his phaser digging into the older man's ribs.
"You always were spineless, son, don't try and change now." he spat, an ugly look on face."Apologize to me or your Captain gets a new hole in his chest." Trip's eyes sought Archer's, pleading, unsure of what to do.
"I..." he began. His dad pushed the phaser harder into Archer's rib's, making him groan slightly, a sound that could be heard, even through the gag.
"Think carefully." his father warned. Trip bowed his head.
"I'm sorry." he muttered. Malcolm smiled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. What did you say?" he asked, clearly taunting his son. He felt no pity, no empathy for his son, only the wish to control. His control had slipped somewhat of late but he would soon remedy that.
With Charles Sr. it was all about control.
Trip slowly pulled himself to his feet, using the wall as support.
"I said, I'm sorry." Trip said loudly. Malcolm smiled and pushed Archer to the floor, the phaser moved so that it was positioned directly behind his head.
"I don't believe you mean that. Say it again... and this time mean it." Malcolm said in a sing song tone. Trip ground his teeth and scanned the room, his eyes falling on... Archer's phaser.
It lay just under a table, where it clearly had fallen. If Trip could somehow get to that table he could - well he didn't know what he could do, only that he could do something.
"I'm sorry father." he said. His lifted clear eyes to meet Malcolm's own. "I only wish you knew how sorry I was." His father laughed, a laugh that set Trip's teeth on edge.
"That's better." he said, lifting his phaser and bring it down, hard, on Archer's head. The other man crashed to the floor.
"Do you know why I did that?" he asked. Trip began to slip round the side of the room, shaking his head. His father smiled, a superior smile.
"Because you have to hurt the heart." he explained. Trip had nearly reached the table now, he could see the phaser, just out of his direct line of sight. He forced himself not to look at it and instead watched his dad. He had the warily look of a man playing a difficult game. All it would take to ruin everything was one flicker to where the phaser lay, one glance and he would have betrayed himself.Trip moved nearer and nearer to the phaser, moving so painfully slowly.
"What are you doing?" Malcolm suddenly asked. Trip froze, like a deer trapped in headlights. Before he could answer there was a low groan behind him. The chief stirred, crying out in pain as he tried to move his leg. Trip acted on pure instinct, not allowing himself any time to think about what he was doing.
He dived forward the second Malcolm turned, his hands reaching out, fingers grasping at the cool metal of the phaser. Even as he fell forward, the phaser pointed upwards, Malcolm turned to face him.
In that moment time slowed.
His finger curled around the trigger, squeezing it. The phaser bolt erupted from the gun, a lighting flash of energy. Trip could see the air parting as the bolt slid past him and reached Malcolm. He heard Malcolm's scream then a thud.
Time sped back up.
Trip crawled forward to where Malcolm was writhing on the ground a phaser wound in his right arm. The other phaser lay a few feet away. Trip pushed it, sliding it across the floor and away from his dad. Trip stood up, fingering something in his pocket.
"I'm so sorry." Trip repeated and pulled out a small metal objet. Malcolm frowned at it then his eyes widened as he searched the armory officer's memory and realized what it was.
A miniature electrical device used in Engineering to make a small field of electricity. It could also shock a man and stop his heart. This certain one had done just that and if it hadn't been for the fast thinking of Dr. Phlox the man would have died. The device had then been turned off and Trip had added it to his 'To fix' list before forgetting all about it.
"You wouldn't."
"I'm sorry." Trip said, and turned on the device, dropping it. It fell through the air towards Malcolm. He could only lie there, his face registering complete surprise before it hit him.
Malcolm's body jerked once then went limp.
"Captain?" a worried voice called from the other side of the door. "Lt. Sato said you would be here, I'm afraid that the Commande-" the door opened and Dr. Phlox came in. He took the whole scene in at a glance.
"Malcolm needs medical attention the most." Trip said, falling to his knees. He stared in morbid fascination at the dead body.
"I... I killed him." he muttered.
~~~
"Goodbye Cap'n." Trip said slowly, a day later. He stood by the docking bay, where the Vulcans were waiting, his father's body already stored in the other ship.
"Tell Malcolm sorry for me, will ya?" he asked shyly. Archer nodded, not trusting himself to speck, a lump in his throat. T'Pol stood a little way away.
"Lt. Reed will be regaining consciousness in a few hours, Commander." she said. Trip nodded.
"I know, but I have to go." he said before turning and walking off the ship and maybe, just maybe out of everyone's lives. TBC...
There you have it! Please leave a review, just one more part to go.
Here's a teaser. :)
"What are you doing?" Archer exclaimed, Trip shrugged his shoulders philosophically.
"Starfleet only want the best. After everything that's happened and after everything that has been found out, how can I be the best?" he said evenly.
Coming Soon...
Part 11:- Light at the End of the Tunnel?
Review's wanted.
~Sethoz