Contractual Obligations
| Star Traks: Boldly Gone | |
| Episode name | |
|---|---|
| Season | 9 |
| Episode number | 6 |
| Writer(s) | Alan Decker, Anthony Butler |
| Year | 2503 |
| Stardate | 178547 |
| Chronology | |
| Previous in series | Welcome To The Hotel California [BG] |
| Next in series | Legend of the Bain [BG] |
| Previous in timeline | Welcome To The Hotel California [BG] |
| Next in timeline | Legend of the Bain [BG] |
Captain Reginald Bain did exactly what a captain should do. He overcame those holding his ship and crew prisoner, and he got back home. So how come it's looking like he made a huge mistake? Find out as the Dillon Consortium tries to collect on some "Contractual Obligations."
Summary
Picking up where the last story left off, the Allegra is still stranded on Edgeworld. Commander Vioxx works on repairs to the bridge systems while Tori Burke, who is handcuffed to a chair to prevent her hitting Vioxx again or trying to run off, watches and is generally unhelpful. Vioxx ends up getting zapped while running a new power conduit to the viewscreen, but, with main power back online, Sub-Commander Remax discovers that the USS Anomaly is hailing them. Captain Reginald Bain fills them in on the current situation and orders them to deal with the giant Dillon Consortium robot that formed out of the structures of Bradley Dillon’s CasinoWorld while Bain and the Anomaly try to stop the Consortium fleet that’s on the way to take possession of the worlds of the Multek Enclave now that the pocket universe generator is no longer running and the Enclave has returned to normal space.
On the Anomaly, Frequoq Wurlitz explains how the Dillon Consortium convinced her predecessor to hand over Edgeworld by stressing how much value Bradley Dillon’s CasinoWorld added to the Enclave as a tourist destination and threatening to move it to Cardassian space. Once the Multeks agreed to give Edgeworld to the Consortium, they realized this would just be the first step in the Consortium’s financial conquest of the entire Enclave. To save the Enclave, they set in motion the plan to move it into a pocket universe that was slightly out of phase with the rest of the galaxy. They invited selected guests, ones with a special relationship with the Multeks, to join them. Then, when everything was ready, they engineered a situation that forced CasinoWorld to evacuate to Waystation Prime. As soon as the evacuation ships were clear, the Multeks activated the pocket universe generators, moving the entire Enclave to safety.
Bain says he will fix it, but Wurlitz orders him out of Multek space and returns to Multos to warn her people. She leaves, and Tanta and Jimsok ask to speak to Lieutenant Commander Tovar. While they adjourn to Vioxx’s office, Bain tells Vioxx that he will send Gworos and Yonk in the Raceabout USS Rhone to help them against the giant robot. He then comms Commander Prosak and Lieutenant Shelly Marsden and tells them to repair the pocket universe generator they’d just finished sabotaging.
Tanta and Jimsok explain to Tovar that they never wanted a child and only had him because Tanta’s parents would not stop harassing them about it with the thought that he would spend most of his time with his grandparents. But then Tovar’s grandparents were killed in a lava skiing accident, forcing Tanta and Jimsok to actually take care of Tovar. When they got the invitation from the Multeks, they decided to disappear with the Enclave. Since Tovar was a Federation citizen, they were confident that he would be taken care of when they left him behind, which is exactly what happened. Tovar snaps back that the Bains loved him more than they ever did and made him feel like a flesh and blood member of the Bain family. Tanta is happy that was the case and also that he is with Marsden, saying that Tovar has done fine with her and Jimsok. They tell Tovar to have a good life and return to the Multek ship.
As the Allegra takes off from Edgeworld to battle the robot, Bain sulks in his Captain’s Lounge. Rosalyn Bain comes in and sits down with him. They are quiet for several moments before Bain finally that he doesn’t know why Rosalyn puts up with him. Rosalyn chides him for wallowing in self-pity. Bain says that the Multeks are going to pay for his mistake and Starfleet has told him to stay out it. Rosalyn notes that since Bain has Marsden trying to repair the generators and the Allegra going after the robot, so he’s already not staying out of it. She knows he can help the Multeks because he’s Reginald Bain. Bain agrees and says it’s time that he reintroduced himself to the Consortium.
The Allegra battles the CasinoWorld robot and actually manages to remove the robot’s head…which does absolutely nothing to stop the thing.
Bain takes the Anomaly back to Multos to retrieve Prosak while Marsden continues trying to bring the pocket universe generators back online. Dr. Natalia Kasyov and Cabral tell him that while they can’t get the full anti-singularity drive operational, by moving Cabral’s sphere and housing directly to engineering, he can tap into the quantum singularity and warp core allowing him to get the Anomaly up to speeds substantially higher than standard warp. Bain says to make the move, since he’ll need that speed against the Consortium fleet.
Yonk and Gworos in the Rhone join the battle against the Consortium robot, but neither they or the Allegra are doing much damage. The robot gets close enough to the Allegra to detect Tori Burke’s presence and comms the ship demanding that she be handed over to the robot.
The Anomaly engages the Dillon Consortium fleet, and the fleet’s captains are sorely outmatched by Bain’s experience and tactical abilities combined with the Anomaly’s speed and the fury at his parents that Tovar was taking out on the Consortium ships. Bain comms Marsden for an update. She says she needs about ten more minutes, but that she has to be there to activate the system. She will be trapped in the Multek Enclave when it slips back into its pocket universe, separating her from Tovar forever. She can’t see any other way. After Tovar and Marsden exchange “I love you”s, he lays into the Consortium ships with a vengeance while Bain comms Frequoq Wurlitz to update her and make sure that the Multeks take good care of Marsden.
Remax deduces that Burke must be giving off a signal that the robot was able to detect and finds that he has a subcutaneous transmitter behind her ear. Vioxx has Remax duplicate the signal using their commbadges for all of them except for Brazzell. Vioxx orders Brazzell to get himself and the Allegra to safety, then he, Burke, Remax, and Nortal are beamed away. They find themselves in a room formed from the folded-up casino, with slot machines jutting out from every wall. Nortal plays and wins one million credits just before the robot announces that it is going to assist the Consortium vessels that are under attack. After the robot jumps into warp, the Rhone informs Bain that it’s heading toward the Anomaly.
Marsden finishes her repairs and is ready to activate the pocket universe generators. Tanta beams into the generator control room. Wurlitz told her what was happening and can’t let Marsden stay there. She won’t let Tovar be hurt anymore when she can do something about it. She says she’ll handle activating the phase network. Marsden says that Tanta doesn’t know how, but Tanta reveals that she helped design it. That’s why she and Jimsok were invited to the Enclave as special guests. She again tells Marsden to go and to tell Tovar to be happy. Marsden beams back to the raceabout and heads for the Enclave border.
Marsden informs the Anomaly that she’s on her way, but it will be 35 minutes until she’s clear of the Enclave, which is far too long, since the remaining Consortium will enter the Enclave in 15 minutes. The pocket universe has to be restored before then. Since the robot has now also exited the Enclave, Bain realizes that this is their chance. Disappointed that he won’t get to battle the robot, Bain orders the Anomaly to intercept Marsden as fast as they can. Rather than face the Consortium fleet alone, the Allegra and Rhone head for Waystation Prime.
Inside the robot, Remax hacks one of the slot machines with his quadcorder and starts winning credits.
The Anomaly reaches Marsden’s raceabout and brings it aboard. Tovar beams her directly to the Anomaly’s bridge as the Anomaly spins around and heads back the way they came.
Remax continues winning and tells the others that the slot machines have a program in them designed to shut down the entire casino if any player ever got on too big of a lucky streak. The Consortium’s profits would be protected while the winner would lose their winnings. Just as the Anomaly arrives to engage the robot, Remax wins one final time, activating the failsafe program and shutting down the entire robot.
The Anomaly comms Tanta to tell her that she can activate the generators. Tovar thanks her and calls her mother. She says to call her Tanta, since they all know who Tovar’s true parents have been. The Multek Enclave vanishes, and Bain asks if Tovar is alright. He and Marsden are very busy kissing, so apparently he is.
The Anomaly heads to Waystation Prime while the Dillon Consortium fleet leaves the area. Bain is prepared to face punished for defying orders and saving the Multeks. After Admiral Kristen Larkin, Station Commander Commodore Theodore Ritter, and several other admirals discuss Bain’s fate, Bain is called in to Ritter’s office and receives a literal slap on the wrist from Larkin. Ritter explains that the Consortium demanded that Bain be severely punished, the Starfleet representative agreed, and then once the Consortium representatives were off the comm, the Starfleet folks decided that they didn’t like the Consortium very much and went with the slap on the wrist.
While Vioxx is in New Starfleet Square Mall, Burke runs up to him angry at all of the trouble he’s caused her, since she is now being blamed for the whole mess. Nortal is enjoying shopping with her winnings, which Remax managed to secure before the robot shut down. This angers Burke even more. She tells Vioxx that she is making it her mission to see that the Consortium destroys him.
Bain has dinner on the Anomaly with Rosalyn, Larkin, and Ritter. Tovar and Marsden arrive, and Tovar asks Ritter to approve something on a padd. Ritter agrees and hands the padd to Bain, saying that he’ll want to see it. Tovar has officially added Bain as his last name. Tovar says that seeing his birth parents again made it clear that he is a Bain. Marsden holds up her hand, which is now sporting a wedding ring, announcing, “And so am I!”
Featuring
- Captain Reginald Bain
- Commander Prosak
- Commander Vioxx
- Lieutenant Commander Tovar
- Lieutenant Shelly Marsden
- Sub-Commander Remax
- Dr. Natalia Kasyov
- Centurion Nortal
- Sub-Lieutenant Zantak
- Cabral
- Rosalyn Bain
Author's Comments
So we have come to the end of another run, but, since I covered a lot of the elements of this storyline in the comments for the previous two stories, I don't know how much I really have to say here.
As you would expect after two stories of mess making, this one was about cleaning things up. More than that, though, it may be the first time that Bain has ever questioned himself or his methods. He took action without all of the facts and very nearly cost the Multeks their civilization. Then fixing that mistake nearly cost his adopted son the woman he loves. If this were a drama series, one of those things probably would have come to pass, forcing Bain into some deep soul searching that possibly would have changed him forever. Fortunately we're writing comedy here, so you get the tension with only a fraction of the angst.
I've noticed, though, that the idea of family not necessarily being about biology has been a recurring theme in the Traks that I've written. In Original Traks, Dillon's parents basically used him as a lab rat. In Waystation, Beck had her sister issues. And in Boldly, Tovar's relationship with the Bains has been one of the core elements of the series. If I were to attempt to psychoanalyze myself and figure out why I keep coming back this idea, I would have to say it's probably due to the fact that my own family is so spread out. I saw either set of grandparents maybe once a year for a couple of days due to distance, and my aunts and uncles are all over the US. Now my brother is literally on the opposite of the country from me. I think because of that, I've tended to have deeper emotional connections with my friends. They are in many ways my family.
Moving from there to more ridiculous matters, we come to the giant robot. Why did the casino turn into a giant robot? Because it made me laugh. With all that was going on between Tovar, his parents, Marsden, and the Bains, we needed some silly. A giant Bradley Dillon robot fit the bill. And now the Multeks have a giant robo-Bradley head floating around their space like that thing out of the old Transformers movie (the animated one. Not that stuff Michael Bay has been putting out. That's a whole other rant). In any case, I thought it would be fun for Bain to take on a giant robot. And then I decided it would be more fun for him to really want to take on the robot and not get the chance.
As I think I said in the comments to the first story of this three-parter, this storyline has been floating around for a while. I think I had the basics of it figured out back in series six or seven, which, when you take into account the five year gap between eight and nine, is a long time. Even then I knew exactly what the last line was. And then we changed it. Tovar and Marsden getting married was something I came up with shortly after I finished the original version of the story, so I wrote a second ending where that was included. After Anthony and I talked about it and what it would mean for the series, we decided to go ahead and get them hitched. It made for an upbeat ending to the run. In case anyone is curious, there was never a thought of ending this one with a cliffhanger.