Chapter Six

Jonathan Archer walked down the hallway of Starfleet's Medical facility to its psychiatric ward looking for room 216. Upon arrival there he hesitated before entering the room. He thought about when he and Trip had first met over ten years ago. Trip was so young and full of life. He had an enthusiasm and energy about him that was contagious. Over the last few years on Enterprise they had been through a lot and Trip had been an irreplaceable asset.

Jon thought about how after encountering several hostile species, Trip had insisted on refitting the ship with phase cannons rather than going back to Earth to have it done, and proceeded, along with Malcolm, to get it done despite Jon's doubts. He thought about how Trip had found a way to communicate with the senior officers when the Scullion had taken over the ship, and was able to devise a plan to retake Enterprise.

Jon had to smile when he thought about how Starfleet's first warp five engine became a reality all because a hot-headed, loud-mouth junior officer with dirty blonde hair had helped Jon steal the NX Beta to make that first flight over ten years ago. Trip had almost gotten into trouble with Admiral Forrest for shooting off his mouth about the sufficiency of Henry Archer's engine and putting the Vulcans in their place about their lack of support for Earth's warp five project.

The NX Beta incident had forged their friendship all those years ago. 'How in the hell', Archer thought 'did we end up here?' as he looked around and tried to process the fact that he was standing outside his best friend's room, on the psych ward at Starfleet Medical. He knocked on the door that was half opened. He slipped inside the room, not sure if he had been invited to do so or not.

"Hey buddy," he said as he looked over at the young engineer sitting at a table working on some type of puzzle.

"Jon," Trip said looking up. "What are you doing here?"

"Came to check on you. Did you think I wouldn't come?"

"Kinda hoped you wouldn't," Trip said softly looking down. "Guess you talked to my Dad?"

"He's worried about you Trip, so are your friends on Enterprise."

"Would you do me a favor Jon, and not mention what happened at my folks' place?" Trip looked up at his friend waiting for his response. He looked very tired to Jon, sad and fragile.

"You got it," Jon said. "How are you?" Trip shifted in his seat and looked away as Jon joined him at the table, sitting across from him.

"I'ma… I'm… aw hell Jon, I'm screwed up. I had a melt down at my folks', in front of everybody. So now they all know… that, that I'm… a freaking basket case!"

"Trip, before you left the ship you were doing so well. At times, you even seemed like…like your old self. What happened?"

"Guess it's this damned PTSD. I never know what's gonna trigger it. I don't have any warning when somethin's gonna freak me out. Everybody keeps tellin' me to avoid certain stressors, but who knew that three…" his voice trailed off as he bit down on his lower lip.

"It's okay Trip," Jon said, "you just keeping getting better."

"I don't know, maybe I'm kiddin' myself. Maybe this is it for me. This is just so damned hard. You know when we went out there I never imagined somethin' like what happened to me could ever happen, to anyone. I mean I wasn't stupid enough to think that space exploration wasn't potentially dangerous, that there wouldn't be some hostile species out there. I just never thought practically everybody we met would hate us, be tryin' to hurt us."

"Not everyone," Jon reminded Trip. "What about Lianna and her father, the folks from Krios Prime, and the Xyrillians? Can't forget the Xyrillians."

"No, lets do," Trip replied, not wanting to approach that subject at a time like this. There were a few minutes of silence.

"Capt'n, I think you should re-consider acceptin' my resignation," Trip said softly.

"I can't do that Trip," Archer replied.

"Listen Capt'n, I appreciate what you've been trying to do for me, and I thank you for believing in me and trying to help me get my life back. But, it's not gonna work. I think we both know I'm finished. My folks want me to come home, but I just don't wanna be a burden or a liability to anyone. I've been thinking about taking a medical discharge, on …disability status."

"You're not disabled," Jon snapped. "This is a temporary setback, nothing more. Look Trip, I wouldn't presume to understand what you've been through. Hell I can barely stand to hear about it, let alone having to live through it. But there's a few things I know for sure, that this mission would never have happened without you; that I wouldn't want to continue it without you; that you're a tough son-of-a-bitch, and you are going to get through this! You're a fighter, and you're going to rise above it!"

"So no, I won't accept your resignation, Commander. I expect you to get better and to be ready to ship out when our leave is up. Is that clear?" Trip smiled a little and looked at his friend. He knew what Archer was trying to do, but it wasn't working.

"Aye Capt'n," is all Trip said. Jon nodded.

"Now show me how to work this apparatus you're working on here," Jon replied as Trip began to show him how the puzzle worked.

Over the next few days, Trip had visits from Malcolm, T'Pol, Hoshi, and Travis. Dr. Phlox had visited almost every day, as he still considered Trip to be his patient. They all had tried to encourage him and persuade him to keep fighting, to come back to the ship, that he could do it.

Trip hated remembering. He had been told over and over again by his doctors that fully recalling his memories of his experience on the Lisyrian ship was the key to his recovery.

One Week Later.

"And how are we today?" asked Dr. Sharon Houston, the Starfleet psychiatrist assigned to Trip, as she entered his room.

"I don't know how we are," Trip replied, "but I'm trying to hang in there. That's all I can do right now."

"Well that's a start," she smiled as she pulled up a chair to the table in the room. She beckoned for Trip to sit down across from her. He did so.

"You've been here for a week now, Trip, and I don't feel our sessions have been as productive I would have liked them to be. Do you want to get better?"

"Yes, of course I do. It's just that…that… it's so hard talkin' about it."

"But, you've done it. Everyday I've come in here and you have talked about your abduction. But, you get to a certain point, then you hit a wall. I want to try to break through that wall today."

"What do you mean, break through? What are you gonna do?'

"What is your greatest fear Trip, Houston asked abruptly.

"My greatest…fear?"

"Yes, we all have them. What is it that makes you afraid more than anything else?" Trip thought for a few moments. He knew well what his greatest fear was, but he couldn't verbalize it.

"Them," he said softly.

"Them?"

"You know who I mean."

"Why don't you tell me."

"I- I can't?"

"Why?"

"I just can't."

"Do you realize that you never call your captors by name? You refer to them as them, my captors, the ones that abducted me, and Him."

Trip did not respond, he just looked at his hands clasped together in front of him, resting on the table.

"Trip," Dr. Houston said as she looked squarely at him, "You need to say their name. What was the species that abducted you and tortured you called?" Trip was silent for a few moments. He had not said their name. He felt like if he said it that he would surely choke on it.

"They were Li…Lisy…L-Lisyrian," he forced out. It left a bitter taste in his throat.

"And you fear them?"

"Yes," Trip admitted.

"All of them?"

"Well, no, not exactly…maybe. There were a couple of medics, females, that took care of me whenever he went too far and really hurt me, which was every week. I ended up spending two or three days with them in the infirmary."

"And they were kind to you?"

"Yes."

"Who were they?" Again Trip hesitated. They were kind to me, he thought. I can say their names, they didn't hurt me. I can remember them. Then he closed his eyes,

"They were… they…were called M-Malvek and Kaatia."

"Why is it so difficult to call them by name? You said they were kind to you?"

"I don't know. S-seems to make it feel more real…like it really happened; like it wasn't just a nightmare."

"Who else do you remember?"

"No one."

"Yes, you do. There was a doctor…"

"I don't remember."

"Yes, you do. Who was the doctor that treated you on that ship? Say her name"

"No!" Trip shouted rising from his chair.

"All of the reports indicate that there was a female Lisyrian physician, what was her name?"

"I-I don't know!"

"Yes you do, think. She was kind to you, she took care of you. She advocated for you!"

"I tell you I can't remember!" Trip cried out.

"She helped you didn't she? She tried to protect you from him didn't she?" the doctor said rising and approaching Trip. "Remember her, what was her name?'

Trip's face was contorted as if in pain from the memory. Suddenly, he could see her face. The kindness in her eyes and he remembered the gentleness of her touch. How could he have forgotten her? Why would he not want to remember her? "V-Ven…dria," Trip said slowly as tears begin to roll down his cheek.

"Why is it so difficult to remember her? You said she was kind to you, she took care of you. She tried to protect you."

"Because," Trip said slowly. "S-she sacrificed herself… s-so I could live, g-get the others out… said I was their only hope!" he cried. "And, he…he…killed her! He killed her! Oh God, he killed her!" He backed up against the wall like a caged animal, fear overtaking him.

"Who killed her? Who did this? Who killed Vendria?"

"H-he did… their Captain…"

"What Is His Name? Remember it! Say it! What is his name?"

"I can't! I can't do it! I don't want to remember!

"You must! Don't let him continue to torture you Trip! Say his name and take back the power he still has over you." Trip hesitated for a few moments. He gasped as if he could not breathe.

"K-Klegg!" Trip shouted. "Klegg! Master Klegg!" Trip then slid down the wall to the floor, sobbing.

"Tell me what happened," Dr. Houston said gently, bending down in front of him. "How did your back become broken? Tell me what Klegg did to you?"

Trip wiped his face on his sleeve. The he told her the story of how Vendria, Malvek and Kaatia had lied to Klegg each week, telling him how Tripp's recovery took longer each time, when in fact they were helping him by giving him access to a broken down shuttle pod. He would spend as many hours as he could repairing it. Then, they would sneak him back to the infirmary. When the shuttle was ready, the women, their children, along with ten other females and their children attempted to escape. But they had been discovered.

Klegg and two of his henchmen had gained access to the shuttle bay before Trip could launch the pod. He had dragged Trip out of it and beat him mercilessly. Then he had lifted him up and crashed his body over his massive knee. Trip lay on the floor like a rag doll, broken. Klegg had ordered Vendria out of the pod. He told her to take Trip to the infirmary and fix him, again. He and his men then walked away laughing.

Vendria walked slowly toward her friend. She looked down at him and scooped him in her arms. But, instead of taking him to the infirmary as ordered, she turned and ran toward the shuttle pod where the others still sat stunned. She tossed him inside and ordered the young pilot sitting in the pilot's seat to take off. Trip could still see her as Klegg and his men, hearing the shuttle power up, returned to the room. Just before the shuttle pod door was closed, Trip turned and looked into Vendria's eyes, they were leaking. Then she turned back toward Klegg and tried to fight him off. It took only one swing. The others watched in horror. Trip cried, wishing he had never seen it. Vendria was dead. She did not stand a chance. She had sacrificed herself for Trip, and the others.

"He…d-decap… decapitated her," Trip cried. "Just like that, he did it. Right in front of her kids. She was my friend, she helped me, t-took care of me when I couldn't take care of myself. They fired at us, but we got away with minimal damage. I'd disabled their ship's engines so they couldn't pursue. It would take them days to fix 'em.

We sent out distress calls and wandered aimlessly for a few days, not having any idea where to go. I didn't know where Enterprise was, and they couldn't get back to their home world in a patched up shuttle pod. I couldn't feel anything, I couldn't walk, started getting delirious. After about three days, Enterprise found us. I was unconscious by then, near death."

"It was Kaatia and Malvek that told your Captain how to locate the Lisyrian ship," Dr. Houston said. "It's in the report. With the help of several others, Enterprise was able to rescue the other captives, at least some of them. The Lisyrian ship was destroyed, but many of the captives were beamed out before that happened from what I understand."

Trip put his face in his hands and sobbed. He was unable to get up from the floor. He was exhausted and his head was pounding. He had trouble breathing and his heart rate was accelerated. Dr. Houston had the physician come and examine and sedate him. She left him sleeping. She then contacted Dr. Phlox, Captain Archer, and Trip's father to inform them that he had made a major breakthrough. He was finally on the road to recovery.

Trip spent the next week at the Starfleet medical facility. While he had made a major breakthrough, he had decided not to return to Enterprise. His family supported his decision. He would inform Captain Archer once he was back home and settled. He knew Jon would try to talk him out of it, but figured that if he had already moved back home, it would be easier for Jon to accept his decision.