A very interesting story with far more questions than answers. It is the sort of story that is written almost more by the reader than the writer do to all the things left unsaid. This is certainly not the most question filled story I have read, but it does rank on that list. It greatly reminds me of a particular writer who was so fond of leaving things unsaid but "assumed" that I found myself having to fill in blanks to literally every sentence. This is pleasant, but I still haven't finished that other story, which is also a lot longer as well. Thank you for writing and posting this!

hang on what was wrong with malcolm that phlox found and what did archer do?

or is it all part of the secrecy and daggers?

wb please!

eek trip colapsed!

and malcolm isnt okay he so isnt...

brillaint! off to read the next chapter

i have to go for a bit and at what a place to leave it

i wonder what malcolm did...

it did seem a bit ooc or trip but considering the whole earth thing...

"So, Hoshi said, and I quote, 'What are you doing in my underwear, sir?' "

wheres that from...?

im worried about the drug bit

and im worried they will send malcolm home

either im too cold or too tired, but the whole sickrooms bit has just flown over my head... well not completly, i get it, but at the same time its like a distant thing...

i wasnt expecting that, im not sure if i should take it as good or bad...

yeah that is one way to describe it, but what is it hehe

aw a sweet chapter

i had made a brilliant reive and then just seemed to crash so i doubt it got through

eek, malcolm and the drugs! i hope hes not addicted, now due to the crash i cant remmember all that i had typed so heres one bit i do remember;

Casei where do i knwo that word form? i cant place it, but i know i have heard it before...

it sounded like the old malcolm!

in the last review i wanted to ask for a bit of good one on one conversation between trip and malcolm, you know with the comebacks and all and the way they can say so much without saying anything...

but i realised this story is complete so there wasnt much point

aw that was a sweet ending there, so sweet...

and malcolms reaction... i want to knwo what happened in the prison!

a knowing look? ha

is malcolm just playing a role to cover how he feels or is he playing the role for the mission?

there does seem to be less of the malcolm from the show... shows his change, if you knwo what i mean...

his babysitter? ha i think he might need it tho

oh why do they need him? i was hooked from the word go...

off to read next chappie

he seems a bit ooc but then again considering what he has been through...

also at the same time for someone who hasnt said much in two years he just said quite a bit...

but i understand, and i think i like where this is going, hell i know i like where this is going

I have mixed feelings about this story - some things I like very much and a couple things I find very disappointing. I'll get the disappointment over with first. I'm assuming this is a stand-alone story. If you plan a series, then my greatest disappointment may not apply.

You used a very good hook to get your readers interested - Malcolm was jailed unjustly, treated badly by his captors and abandoned by Starfleet until they had need for him. All through the story I kept asking myself why wasn't Archer jailed when he was there for the taking and the truly guilty party? Why didn't Starfleet protest? What power does Starfleet have now to get him out that they didn't before? None of this was answered in the end - just an oblique reference to Archer doing something. I don't mind that he doesn't want to tell Malcolm, but I think your readers deserve to know. I feel that leaving that hanging undermines the credibility of the rest of the story which is a shame because there is so much about it that is enjoyable.

It has a very film noir feeling about it that is appropriate and wonderful. There is a very good depiction of post-traumatic stress, including the use of drugs/alcohol to self-medicate (alcohol is a drug, even if legal). I thought you might go for that creep Nilo being their contact (just their luck!), but you resisted that temptation - even though a chapter where Malcolm took him apart could probably have been pay per view - in favor of it being someone who was pretty much a nonentity. With what's going on in the world now, you chose to raise the question of what is acceptable behavior for uniformed services when seeking information on terrorists. Is the Geneva Convention outmoded? Very thought provoking. Trip's feelings of guilt and his determination to care for Malcolm while trying mightily to allow him to preserve his dignity is also wonderful.

My other small disappointment is that it seemed too easy for them to escape. I understand Trip ended up in the water, that Malcolm must have fished him out, and that that was yet another trauma for Malcolm who is terrified of drowning. Unfortunately, this all happened off screen (so to speak), and wouldn't have meant much to anyone unaware of Malcolm's aquaphobia. To be honest, when I first came to this site, that would have been me. For various reasons, I didn't see much of "Enterprise" when it was on commercial TV and I don't have cable now, so I learn as I go by reading the stories here and at other sites. I admit, though, that how much a writer coddles the readers is the writer's call. I just thought it is something to keep in mind. I do look forward to more of your stories because you do seem to tackle some of the darker, more difficult subjects.

Just found your story. Read it all the way through. Great work and look forward to more.