UNTITLED FAN FICTION ANTHOLOGY

By Vickie L. Holt

In recent years, I have become more aware of the phenomenon of “fan fiction” than I had been previously. For those of you who are not familiar, “fan fiction” is fiction written by predominantly non-professional writers, many of whom are teenagers. The stories are specifically based on existing television shows, movies and even other books. It is a type of fiction written by the fans of other productions who are so infatuated that it compels them to write their own stories. Most writers do this for one of two reasons: first, to satisfy the need for more of the story, if the finite nature of the original isn’t enough for them. Secondly, many stories are written for the purpose of entertaining certain fantasies the writers might have about certain characters.

There are several kinds of fan fiction out there, most of which can be found on the internet. There is “general fanfic”, which describes just straightforward fiction. There are also “slash” and “fem-slash”. These are stories that deal mostly with the romantic and sometimes graphically sexual stories that happen between characters of the same sex. Finally, there is “het”, which describes romantic and/or sexual stories involving a heterosexual relationships.

Oddly enough, without knowing it, I actually became a published author from writing fan fiction. Back in the early 1990’s, I started writing short stories based on characters and situations from Elf Quest comics. However, a chance encounter with Richard Pini, publisher of ElfQuest, resulted in my stories becoming officially and internationally published in their “New Blood” series, and later for their “WaveDancers” storyline. Even the novel I wrote, “Vengeance is Mine”, is the result of writing a story based on a television show.

Still, I had a very low opinion of fan fiction in general, because of its very amateur, adolescent and unskillful nature. Despite this, I have learned about skilled writers who have attracted large numbers of readers online, and who have used that fan base to make the step from fan-fiction writer to published author of original work. This caliber of fan fiction, however, is the exception, rather than the rule. But because some writers have managed to make this transition, fan fiction has gained a measure of respect in the writing and publishing community.

Yet I still kept it at arm’s length…until one day last year. While watching an episode of Star Trek Enterprise, a friend suggested that there was probably some slash fiction on the web that involved a main character and an obscure character. I thought, surely not…but after having a look, I discovered no less than three short pieces involving those two characters, and all based on the same scene from the same episode. It involved Lt. Malcolm Reed and Major Hayes of the MACO’s. It was a third season episode in which the tension between these two men had reached critical mass, and they had a pretty spectacular fight.

In all three stories, the writers just had one of the men show up at the other’s door, knock on it and admit in an adolescent fashion, “I think you’re hot…wanna do it?” Not exactly in those words, but that was pretty much the idea. I became immediately incensed. It was like fingernails on a chalk board, or a singer hitting a flat note. If the writers of these stories were titillated by the thought of Reed and Hayes “getting together”, yet had to change their characters so thoroughly to make it happen, then they have defeated their purpose! These men are no longer Reed and Hayes. First off, Malcolm Reed is an established heterosexual, though Hayes’ sexual preferences were never addressed.

This encounter resulted in me feeling challenged to write this story properly. Faced with the question “what would it take to make confirmed heterosexual, Malcolm Reed, step over the line and be a willing participant in a homosexual encounter”, I began making it happen. The result was a character-driven story that, though logical progression and established characterization, ended with Malcolm Reed agreeing to a homosexual encounter with Major Hayes.

Motivated by this success, I decided to write more short works of fan fiction, and not just the slash variety. The result will be a collection of short stories based on a variety of television shows, including Star Trek Enterprise, Babylon 5, LOST, Primeval, Jake 2.0, Blood Ties, Stargate, Avatar, X-Files and more Forever Knight. This project, however, is on hold until work is completed on my current project, “Gimme Shelter”.

In the meantime, here is an excerpt from “The Source Is Irrelevant”, the Reed/Hayes story:

It was Tuesday evening, eighteen hundred hours. Hayes and his Macos lined one wall of the training room while Malcolm, Tucker, T’Pol, Hoshi and several other crewmen lined the other. The assignment had been set. It was time to choose partners for sparring, but Malcolm only had eyes for Hayes. He couldn’t wait to smash the man’s face into the mat!

Hayes seemed to have the same thought. He met Malcolm half way across the floor with an extended arm and an elbow to the jaw. Malcolm fell like a lead weight. From the flat of his back, he could see Hayes standing above him…waiting. He hadn’t been ready. He’d been concentrating so much on pummeling Hayes that he hadn’t had a proper defense planned to counter the attack. Malcolm closed his eyes and chuckled. Despite the tension and humiliation, the blow to his jaw was like a drug. He felt days of anxiety melting away. He opened his eyes again and took Hayes’ extended hand. Once on his feet, he apologized for not being ready then took a more defensive stance for the next move.

As the session continued, Malcolm fought with all he had, exhilarating as much in his own injuries as those he’d managed to inflict upon his opponent. A well aimed kick to Hayes’ knee sent the man to the mat. Though he and the Major had called a truce after their last encounter, they both seemed to be enjoying the exercise that the match afforded them. A volley of punches and both men were reeling. There was no malice behind Malcolm’s desire to inflict pain on the man. There was only the desire. The desperate desire to drive away months of having the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Uncertain of the move that caused it, Malcolm found himself somersaulting through the air and he fell hard on the mat. He stayed there for a moment, catching his breath and glancing round the of the room. Trip and T’Pol were on the far side. Trip had the slender Vulcan in a forward hold and was looking into her eyes with a hungry expression that immediately made Malcolm angry. In that instant, Trip took T’Pol to the floor to pin her with a twist of her arm. Their faces were close together…lips nearly touching…

“I knew it…” Malcolm thought derisively, but in the same moment he was jerked to his feet and back to reality. Still distracted by the developments across the room, he wasn’t prepared to be spun around and placed firmly into a lock from behind. One arm was stretched over his shoulder and held behind his head while the other was held behind his back. Hayes’ body was pressed firmly to Malcolm’s back, solidifying the hold and making an escape counter move very difficult.

Malcolm felt a thrill run down his back and into his loins, and he began to stiffen. With no further thoughts for technique or style, Malcolm thrashed violently in a panicked attempt to free himself from the Major’s hold. Hayes released him immediately.

“I’m sorry if I hurt you, Lieutenant,” he said, taking one step back and looking perfectly professional.

“No, I’m fine,” said Malcolm in a hurry. “Just give me a minute.”

Hayes nodded then stepped away across the room to instruct other sparring pairs.

Malcolm leaned against the wall, breathing heavily and trying to relax. He glanced accusingly at Trip and T’Pol, blaming their gratuitous display for his current humiliation. Bloody vicious, he thought, to parade a steak through a ship full of starving people.

After a few moments, he called Hayes back over to continue their match. For the next ten minutes, Malcolm found himself in a state of rising panic with every touch and every hold that passed between him and Major Hayes. His skin was like a sensory amplifier, sending waves of desire that made his hair stand on end with every contact. He tried concentrating these feelings on images of Commander T’Pol , but this made matters worse. His loose fitting workout sweats were doing very little to hide the evidence of his current state.

Malcolm was so lost in panic and the effort to channel his rebellious lust in a feminine direction that his combat technique was little more than token movement. He soon found himself pinned to the mat under the firm weight of Major Hayes, breathing heavily in his ear. Malcolm felt himself speeding quickly toward climax, and with a strength born of pure adrenaline threw the Major off. He stood and left the room without another word.