Everything Right Is Wrong Again
| Star Traks: Waystation | |
| Episode name | Everything Right Is Wrong Again |
|---|---|
| Season | Stardate 58--- |
| Episode number | 5 |
| Writer(s) | Alan Decker |
| Year | 2381 |
| Stardate | Unknown |
| Chronology | |
| Previous in series | Life Of The Party |
| Next in series | Unwanted Overtures |
| Previous in timeline | Life Of The Party [WAY] |
| Next in timeline | Unwanted Overtures [WAY] |
Where's the line between a bad day and the universe actually being out to get you?
Summary
Lieutenant Commander Craig Porter is spending a relaxing morning in Science Lab Two working on his pet project, the chroniton storage chamber, when Yeoman Tina Jones comms him and asks him to come to the Welcome Center. Upon arriving, Porter runs into a car...literally. Jones' secret admirer, who has been leaving presents for her for months, seems to have somehow managed to get a car and deposit it at the Welcome Center. Jones wants to know how it was done. Porter is due in Ops, but he says he'll check it out for her... and is almost immediately flattened by Ih'mad, who is driving a hoverlift loaded with supplies to his restaurant. In Ops, Porter finds that Captain Lisa Beck and Lieutenant Commander Sean Russell have had equally bad starts to their days.
Bradley Dillon is summoned to his campaign headquarters by his campaign director, Donna Lymon. Lymon is concerned about Bradley's prospects now that he is running against Kathryn Janeway, who is not only Starfleet but also considered hero. Bradley decides that he wants to debate her as soon as possible and tells Lymon to set it up.
Porter, Russell, and Morales continue to suffer various misfortunes as the day continued. Morales endures some minor injuries while Porter and Russell run afoul of an elderly Andorian woman. Safe in his quarters that evening, Porter reviews the sensor logs from the Welcome Center from the previous night. He assumes that Bradley Dillon is Jones' secret admirer, but this train of thought is derailed as he notices something far more disturbing: the presence of chronitons in the mall around the time he went to see Jones that morning. Believing that his chroniton storage chamber is somehow leaking and dosing him with chronitons, Porter heads to his lab and checks the device over for leaks. While adjusting one section of the chamber, Porter is caught in an energy surge.
Featuring
- Captain Lisa Beck
- Commander Walter Morales
- Lieutenant Commander Craig Porter
- Lieutenant Commander Sean Russell
- Yeoman Tina Jones
- Dr. Diantha
- Bradley Dillon
Also Featuring
Author's Comments
This story was developed a bit backwards. I had Porter's "And that's how I got this scratch on my head" line before I had anything else other than the idea that I wanted to do something twisty with temporal physics. There are a couple of big problems with time travel stories. First, they've been done a lot, so it's hard to find a new twist. And second, many times they just don't make sense. I can't say for sure if I avoided either of these issues, but I had a lot of fun writing this one.
A couple of other quick notes:
Freight of Rigel was supposed to be a play on "Crate and Barrel." It didn't work. At all. Oh well.
One of these days I really need to draw a map of the mall. I know the layout in my head, but I'm never bothered to put it on paper. If I ever learn how to render things, it would be lots of fun to create as a mod level for Elite Force 2 or something.
Bradley's campaign manager, Donna Lymon, owes her name to The West Wing. It seemed appropriate to give that show a little acknowledgement considering I don't think any other series has ever handled the presidency and elections remotely as well.