Hail To The Chief
| Star Traks: Waystation | |
| Episode name | Hail To The Chief |
|---|---|
| Season | Stardate 55--- |
| Episode number | 1 |
| Writer(s) | Alan Decker |
| Year | 2378 |
| Stardate | 55302 |
| Chronology | |
| Previous in series | Collectibles - Part Two |
| Next in series | 9/10ths Of The Law |
| Previous in timeline | The Waiting Is The Hardest Part [VEX] |
| Next in timeline | 9/10ths Of The Law [WAY] |
It's Captain Lisa Beck vs. Federation President Bradley Dillon in a battle to the finish to settle once and for all who is the ultimate authority on Waystation!
Summary
After attending the wedding of Alexander Rydell and Karina Durham, Captain Lisa Beck, Lieutenant Commander Craig Porter, and Lieutenant Sean Russell return to Waystation. Russell is upset, having learned at the wedding that Monica Vaughn had been promoted to lieutenant commander while he is still a lieutenant. Beck is disappointed to find that Phillip Harper is away from the station again, this time gone to Earth to meet with a potential in his new project, SolTerra Industries, while Porter's relationship with Joan Redding has him confused.
At the Ops staff meeting the next morning, Beck is surprised by the arrival of Federation President Bradley Dillon. He tells her that, since Waystation is now the de facto seat of the Federation government, he needs to be at the meeting so that he is informed of anything that could affect him. Then, just to make Beck even more pleased, Colonel Martin Lazlo busts in, saying that if Bradley is at the meeting, he'll be at the meeting. Bradley and Lazlo get into an argument about Lazlo's attempts to provide security for Bradley against Bradley's will. With the two unwanted guests distracted, Beck holds a quick staff meeting and dismisses everyone. The next day, Beck tries to have the most boring meeting ever in hopes of getting Bradley and Lazlo to leave. This plan doesn't work. After a conversation with Dr. Ameila Nelson, Beck has a new plan in mind.
Beck is not at the next day's staff meeting. Actually she's not on Waystation at all, and she has left Bradley in command, since he is, as he pointed out, the Commander-in-Chief of Starfleet. As Bradley is hit with all the day-to-day annoyances that Beck usually deals with, Beck is enjoying a sun-drenched beach on a nearby colony world. Lazlo takes his efforts to convince Bradley that the marines should provide his security a bit too far, and Bradley orders him off of the station. Lazlo tracks down Beck on her beach and ends up hanging out there as well. After Bradley is practically drowned in Starfleet paperwork and then almost killed attempting to settle a business dispute between the Breen and Nausicaan owners of two stores in Starfleet Square Mall, Bradley decides that he's had enough. He finds Beck and Lazlo and tells Beck that the station is hers and that he was wrong to interfere. That's all Beck wanted to hear, and she returns to Waystation, bringing Lazlo with her.
Russell gets his promotion, but he's still upset because he doesn't feel he did anything special to earn it. It was just handed to him. He decides that he needs to get away for a while and clear his head. He decides to visit his cousin, Olivia Russell on Halydol.
Featuring
- Captain Lisa Beck
- Commander Walter Morales
- Lieutenant Commander Craig Porter
- Lieutenant Sean Russell
- Dr. Amedon Nelson
- Yeoman Tina Jones
- Colonel Martin Lazlo
- Bradley Dillon
Also Featuring
Author's Comments
This is something of a level-set story. Since this run was written a while after the Collectibles two-parter was posted, I took a little time in this story to remind readers what is going on in the characters' lives. Also, this story gave me a chance to show the Waystation characters' reactions to events from the end of Captain Alexander Rydell's Starfleet career in The Lost Years portion of Star Traks: The Original Series.