Pomp And Circumstances

Star Traks: Waystation
Episode name	Pomp And Circumstances
Season	Stardate 57---
Episode number	10
Writer(s)	Alan Decker
Year	2380
Stardate	57988
Chronology
Previous in series	Just Undo It
Next in series	And They're Off
Previous in timeline	Just Undo It [WAY]
Next in timeline	Learning Curve Pt 1 [VEX]

Waystation is about to play host to dignitaries from across the quadrant as well as a few uninvited guests. It sure would be nice if someone could find Captain Lisa Beck.

Summary

This story picks up right where "Just Undo It" left off.

Lieutenant Commander Craig Porter is convinced that something has gone wrong with Captain Lisa Beck's and Dr. Kathy Beck's trip into the past in Kathy's timeship. He starts going through the Waystation sensor logs to see if he can figure out what happened. Captain Beck, meanwhile, has had her command codes ripped from her brain by a combined mind meld from Spaanz and Taanz, both of whom were left drained by the effort. Governor Tarmak goes to see Kathy and gives her a padd full of the Romulans' temporal research. He then departs for Waystation with Commander Brella on the Warbird Weetabix, leaving behind instructions that Kathy is to be allowed to leave Zycam in her ship but then she is to be chased down and destroyed in a way that makes it look like an accident.

Porter discovers that the surge of chroniton particles the timeship emitted just before vanishing was just a screen to hide the engaging of a cloaking device. A faint trail of chronitons heads towards Zycam. Commander Walter Morales allows Porter to take the USS Wayward to investigate, but, since station security is needed to the upcoming ceremony where President Bradley Dillon will be giving a lifetime achievement award to Jean-luc Picard, Morales suggests that Porter take Marine Lieutenant Stephanie Hodges with him.

Kathy leaves Zycam in her time ship that doesn't actually travel in time and, some time later, detects a Romulan ship closing on her position. She quickly realizes that she's been duped. Before the Romulans can destroy her, though, the Wayward arrives and drives the Romulans off. Porter and Hodges beam onto the time ship and, after Hodges flattens Kathy with a swift punch to the face, they learn that Beck is still on Zycam. Porter takes the cloaking device from the time ship, installs it in the Wayward, and then the cloaked Wayward heads to Zycam. Using the fact that Colonel Martin Lazlo stunned her as leverage, Hodges was able to bring along a contingent of marines led by Lieutenant Colonel Daniel O'Neal. The marines are quickly able to find Beck, but she is in a catatonic state. They return her to the Wayward, where the sound of Kathy's voice is able to rouse Beck. The captain, after grabbing her sister's throat, orders Kathy confined to quarters and that the Wayward get back to Waystation as soon as possible.

After arriving outside Waystation in the cloaked Weetabix, Tarmak beams a device that onto the station that mimics Beck's lifesigns and has cobbled together bits of her voice ordering command functions to be transferred to the next person to give a particular password. Tarmak then beams aboard himself with Brella and 30 Romulan centurions. Tarmak says the password, giving himself control of Waystation, and then has anesthezine pumped into every room in the station except for the few sections around the arboretum where the medal ceremony is being held. Tarmak leaves Brella in a maintenance room and transfers command to the next person to say the password of his choosing, then he and the centurions head into the arboretum, interrupting the ceremony and quickly taking the room's occupants hostage.

Tarmak explains to Bradley and Picard why he wants revenge upon them, but he's not there to kill them. He wants to humiliate them just as he was humiliated. He orders them to strip in front of a Federation-wide audience. Bradley maneuvers things so that Picard has to go first. The cloaked Wayward arrives at the station, and Porter is able to find a small hole in the shields, which he uses to beam himself, Beck, and the marines on board, leaving Hodges and Kathy on the Wayward. The marines, Beck, and Porter storm the maintenance bay, quickly capturing Brella, and they are soon joined by Commander Morales, Lieutenant Commander Sean Russell, and Yeoman Tina Jones, who were in the arboretum's gardening supply shed when the Romulans took over from which they were able to slip into the jefferies tube system and make it to the maintenance bay. Beck sends Morales, Porter, and Russell to Ops to see if they can override Tarmak's control of the station.

Outside the station, the Wayward is suddenly jolted by an impact. The cloaked ship bumped into the equally-cloaked Weetabix. With both ship's cloaked now damaged, the warbird attempts to destroy the Wayward, forcing Hodges to evade as best she can. In Ops, Russell realizes that they are dealing with a command lockout but that people with other kids of access may be able to get into some systems. He comms Jones, who is still in the maintenance bay with Beck, and asks her to see if her student access will allow her into the station's security logs. It does, and Jones starts reviewing the logs to see if they can find away around what the Romulans have done. She soon calls Beck, who has been verbally-sparring with Brella, over to her terminal. Beck starts laughing. While Tarmak transferred the command codes to the next person to utter his chosen password, Brella never actually said the password. Beck does and regains control of the station's systems.

With Ops functioning again, Russell uses Waystation's weapon systems on the warbird, quicking disabling the vessel. Beck heads into the arboretum just before Picard has to drop his underwear. Tarmak is shocked to see her, but quickly recovers. Beck informs him that he doesn't know a thing about humiliation, then comms Porter, who, in the tradition of Monica Vaughn of the USS Secondprize, proceeds to beam Tarmak's clothes right off of his body. Tarmak is reduced to sobbing.

The Romulans return to Zycam, leaving Tarmak behind to be dealt with by the Federation. Beck has a feeling that he'll end up at Tantalus V. Kathy is put in the brig, where Beck informs her that she will be sent back to Earth for trial. Later, in the Gravity Well, Beck wonders if she should be more upset about her sister. She realizes that the Waystation crew is more her family than Kathy.

Featuring

• Captain Lisa Beck
• Commander Walter Morales
• Lieutenant Commander Craig Porter
• Lieutenant Commander Sean Russell
• Yeoman Tina Jones
• Colonel Martin Lazlo
• Dr. Diantha
• Bradley Dillon

Also Featuring

• Stephanie Hodges
• Ih'mad
• Baughb
• Lieutenant Colonel Daniel O'Neal

Author's Comments

If you look back a bit to the stories I did two runs earlier ("Hail to the Chief" - "Collect Call"), you'll notice there's a bit of an angst quotient going on there. Same thing occurs if you go back two runs before that ("Best Laid Plans" - "A Bridge Way Too Far."). So, following the pattern, this run was due to be angst time again (honestly, though, I didn't even realize there was a pattern until I typed this). I think what happens after one of the completely fun runs (which I felt the last run before this one was), I start feeling the need to delve into the characters a bit more.

Beck's sister has been one of those issues that's been dangling out there for a long time. I knew there had been this falling out over their parents' death, but that wasn't really a story. I wanted to show her eventually, but really all of this was background. Coming out of the last run, though, I decided that one of the things I really wanted to do this time around was have a villain who wanted to get to Beck. Combining that with Kathy finally made the pieces fall into place and gave me the overall structure of her arc in this run.

Additionally, I wanted to shake things up with the crew a little bit, adding to the angst.

Moving to "Pomp and Circumstances" itself, I was left with the challenge of wrapping up all of the threads from the run. Originally Just Undo It was going to end with Beck being handed over to the Romulans by Kathy (which she was going to be conscious for). It was going to be dark, grim, and angsty. And then Anthony Butler had a great idea for how to end Boldly Gone Series 8 that was somewhat similar. I decided to dump my ending and come up with something else. I'm glad I did because I think "Just Undo It" works a lot better now (Plus I was able to bring back Spaanz and Taanz).

My notes for what became "Pomp and Circumstances", meanwhile, were pretty much "Porter rescues Beck. They stop Tarmak." Not a whole lot to go on there. Normally I outline a lot more, but this time I just took it scene by scene, moving through a bit at a time. I want to thank Anthony for being there to bounce ideas around with. He gave me a major piece of the puzzle and a decent title, which I greatly appreciate. My original one stunk.

With the danger to the station dealt with, I had to address Kathy. I knew from the start of the run that there would not be a big reconciliation here. Sure I considered it briefly, but it felt wrong. These things don't work like that (I imagine. I don't have a sister to betray me to the Romulans, so I can't say for sure). So instead I gave the Waystation crew the happy reconciliation. It felt much more satisfying that way.

Links

Pomp And Circumstances (text)

The Star Traks: Waystation web page