 Quick Facts:
- Rank: Lieutenant
- Assignment: Armory
Officer, Enterprise NX-01
- Full Name: Malcolm Reed
- Birthday: September 2
- Parents: Stuart & Mary
Reed
- Siblings: Younger sister,
Madeline Reed
- Marital status: Single
Complete Bios:
FROM
STARTREK.COM
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed is the
weapons and tactical expert on Enterprise NX-01, and the first
to jump into the fray when a rescue mission becomes necessary or
when explosions need to be mounted.
Reed believes in always maintaining a high state of readiness,
and was frustrated that Enterprise left dock before all the
ship's planned weaponry was installed and tested. He was never
optimistic about the degree of friendliness the starship would
encounter in deep space, and his pessimism has proven valid.
Reed has had to improvise against hostile aliens with superior
weaponry many times. In one battle early in the mission, the
Enterprise crew was nearly captured to be drained of their
fluids after the ship's torpedoes failed to penetrate an enemy
ship's defenses. It took cooperation between Reed and an Axanar
captain to destroy their common foe. Later, attacks from another
unknown race prompted Reed and Chief Engineer Tucker to lead the
crew in building a complement of phase cannons from scratch
while in mid-space — accomplishing in two days what would have
taken the armory team at Jupiter Station at least a week. While
the first deployment of the phase cannons was less than clean,
they were ultimately successful in warding off the hostile
aliens and finally gave Enterprise the firepower that Reed has
always wanted.
Malcolm Reed is the man the crew turns to for weapons training
and target practice. It was Reed who presented Captain Archer
with the crew's new hand weapons called "phase-pistols,"
explaining, "They have two settings, stun and kill. It would be
best not to confuse them." It is Reed who sits at the tactical
console on the Bridge, and in any encounter with an alien vessel
he is the one who immediately scans the ship for weapons and
engine configurations. He is very protective of the Armory and
the ship's tactical systems, and tries to keep those areas
off-limits to visitors (although he did give a visiting Vissian
tactical officer a tour). He is also in charge of security and
procedures for locking down the ship in an emergency, such as
being boarded.
Although Reed was initially skeptical about using the newly
approved bio-transport platform ("I don't think I'm quite ready
to have my molecules compressed into a datastream"), he has used
the transporter probably more than anyone on the crew — its
safety being less a concern to him than its tactical advantage.
For example, when Archer and other crewmembers were taken
hostage in their first encounter with Andorians at the Vulcan
sanctuary P'Jem, Reed led a munitions team to the surface via
the transporter, to mount a series of explosions that led to a
firefight that ultimately resolved the situation.
Even under peaceful circumstances, Reed loves to "blow things
up." When Archer decided to obtain samples of a rare mineral
called eisilium from a large comet the crew was studying, Reed
volunteered to take a portable drilling rig on a little "cometwalk."
Fortunately for him, the drilling effort first required blasting
a hole in the comet surface. The perfectionist that he is, he
was disappointed the explosion wasn't more symmetrical. When the
ship has a movie night, Reed's favorite films are always those
that show lots of explosions.
Blowing up stuff is not all that Reed is expert at. He has made
technological strides in other ways, such as perfecting a stable
EM barrier, also known as a "forcefield." When a strange,
growing organism invaded Enterprise and tried to absorb several
crewmembers, Reed needed a way to stop the creature from
spreading and capturing more people. He jury-rigged a prototype
based on specs in the database and found a way to control the
particle density, something Starfleet hadn't been able to do in
five years. Another accomplishment was a "Tactical Alert" that
saved Enterprise at a crucial moment. Because of this, Archer
recommended that the alert and accompanying protocols be made
standard procedure.
Even with all of his accomplishments, Reed isn't above being
rattled. He was upset when he accidentally left his communicator
behind on a pre-warp alien planet, and went on an away mission
with Archer to retrieve it. The duo was captured, but was later
rescued by their fellow crewmembers. Still, Reed noted that he
wasn't afraid to die in order to avoid contaminating the
pre-warp culture.
Everyone knows Malcolm Reed as an exemplary armory officer, but
people don't know much about him as a person. He keeps to
himself much of the time, preferring to work over lunch rather
than socializing. When his September 2 birthday came up, the
crew realized they didn't know what he liked to eat (although
Dr. Phlox observed that he seems to love a good breakfast,
including lots of eggs and pancakes spread with peanut butter).
Malcolm is a bit of a mystery even to his own family — sister
Madeline, Uncle Archie, Aunt Sherry and two other spinster aunts
— and his parents, Stuart and Mary, don't know much about his
career other than the fact he was assigned to Enterprise. But
they can share the blame for being uncommunicative, as they were
occupied with moving back to Kota Baharu, Malaysia, while
Malcolm was preparing to leave Earth. Besides, Stuart never
seemed particularly pleased that his son joined Starfleet
instead of the Navy, feeling almost insulted that the ocean was
not big enough for him. For his part, Malcolm always hoped that
he would be able to follow in the footsteps of his father and
grandfather and join the Royal Navy — he was raised on the
water, studied all of the great naval battles and "knew how to
handle a boat before [he] could ride a bicycle." Unfortunately,
he suffers from aquaphobia and is afraid of drowning. Malcolm's
great-uncle suffered from a similar fear, but he faced it
head-on by joining the Navy and signing up for submarine
service. He was eventually made chief engineer of the H.M.S.
Clement, and went down with his ship when it was trapped
underneath an ice shelf. Malcolm couldn't help but recall this
when he was pinned to Enterprise's hull by an orbital alien
mine. Luckily, Reed and Archer worked together and managed to
free him and save the ship.
Emotional detachment has defined many of Malcolm's personal
relationships, especially those with women. He's had a lot of
involvements, but none serious or lasting. There was Ruby, a
waitress at the 602 Club in Mill Valley where all the Starfleet
trainees used to go; there was Maureen, another waitress at a
restaurant on the Embarcadero. When Malcolm thought he was
doomed to die aboard Shuttlepod 1, he wrote letters to Deborah,
Rochelle, Catelin and several others — all girls he had
short-lived relationships with because he could never get close
to them, but they were all he had besides his family to say
farewell to.
Malcolm is beginning to realize, though, that the crew of
Enterprise is different. They are his family now, and he is
beginning to feel comfortable enough with them to reveal more of
himself. Still, Reed was somewhat uncomfortable when Archer
invited him to breakfast so that they could get to know each
other better. Reed has been trained not to fraternize with his
superior officers, and only feels comfortable discussing work
with the captain. He also believes the captain could show a bit
more caution in certain areas, though he will admit that
Archer's style has its advantages.
He was an Eagle Scout with 28 merit badges, including exobiology
(more than Captain Archer). His health is a bit delicate — once
he was the only crewman on board to catch a head cold,
apparently from a virus lurking inside a case of plasma coolant.
Plus, he suffers from a number of allergies including dust
mites, oak pollen, tropical grasses, and various plant enzymes,
including bromelin. For several years he's been taking regular
injections to help his body tolerate bromelin, because that's an
enzyme found in pineapple, which he loves. When his crewmates
presented him with a pineapple cake for his birthday, he was
quite impressed.
Reed's knowledge of ship's weaponry, his professionalism and his
dedication to duty make him vital member of the crew as
Enterprise enters the mysterious area known as the Delphic
Expanse. |
