Star Traks 5
| Star Traks: The Original Series | |
| Episode name | Star Traks 5: In-The-Way-Station |
|---|---|
| Season | |
| Episode number | |
| Writer(s) | Alan Decker |
| Year | 2373 |
| Stardate | 50216 |
| Chronology | |
| Previous in series | Reason to Panic [TRK] |
| Next in series | Commanding Presence [TRK] |
| Previous in timeline | Sensitivity 101 [TRK] |
| Next in timeline | House Arrest [WAY] |
A run-in with a not-so-friendly alien race (They never are) leads to big changes for the USS Secondprize crew. Determined to protect Federation space from this new enemy, Starfleet hastily constructs a new outpost to watch over things and transfers members of the Secondprize crew to man it.
Summary
"Star Traks 5" was divided into three acts with an intermission between each act:
ACT ONE: THE DISCOVERY
Dr. Rebecca Singer has been removed from duty and shipped off to Tantalus V, leaving the USS Secondprize without a Chief Medical Officer as they travel into unexplored regions of the Beta Quadrant. The ship detects a signal that the universal translator is unable to understand. Lieutenant Lisa Beck, who has been feeling unfulfilled in her position as Communications Officer, sets to work trying to determine if the signal carries a message. Jaroch locates the source of the signal, and the Secondprize goes to investigate, arriving at a deserted Class M world just as Beck completes her translation. It's a welcome message providing landing coordinates.
Commander Travis Dillon, Jaroch, Beck, and Lieutenant Sean Russell beam down to investigate and find what appears to be an automated hotel. Beck translates a sign indicating that this place is the edge of Multek space, called Edgeworld and apparantly the Mutleks don't believe their is anything beyond this point but an empty void. In short, they've discovered a tourist attraction. Soon thereafter, a unfamiliar ship approaches Edgeworld. When Captain Alexander Rydell contacts the ship, the Multek who responds screams in horror upon seeing Rydell, opens fire on the Secondprize, and transports the away team off of the surface before fleeing.
As the Secondprize pursues, the away team find themselves in a brig. Up on the bridge of the Multek ship, Captain Wuddle is having a crisis. He's just the captain of a cruise ship, and his species does not believe in the existence of other sentient life in the universe. Now he's supposedly holding four beings who can't exist in his brig. The Multeks decide they are hallucinating. This gets a bit more complicated when their hallucinations escape. The away team captures a Multek and finds a tiny shuttlepod. Jaroch and Russell take the Multek back to the Secondprize in the shuttlepod while Beck and Dillon remain on the Multek ship and try to take the bridge. Beck and Dillon end up in a hand-to-hand battle with Wuddle and his crew, surprising Wuddle with the fact that his hallucinations have rather solid fists. The Multeks get the upper hand and are about to blast Beck and Dillon, when the Secondprize takes down the Multek ship's shields and beams the two officers away. The Secondprize heads back toward Starbase 219 in Federation space before Wuddle can call in reinforcements.
FIRST INTERMISSION: THE DIRECTIVE
Admiral Thomas Wagner is waiting for the Secondprize crew when they arrive at Starbase 219. He informs them that, due to the possible Multek threat, Starfleet has decided to put a presence in that region of space as quickly as possible. An outpost, to be called Waystation, will be rapidly assembled at the starbase using existing starship components, and most of its command crew will come from the Secondprize. Beck is abruptly promoted to Commander and put in charge of the station. Russell, Lieutenant Craig Porter, Yeoman Tina Jones, and the Secondprize's shuttlebay chief, Commander Walter Morales will round out the command crew. While Beck is ordered to supervise construction of the station, Russel, Porter, Jones, and Morales will go to Bracktia Prime to pick up their new Chief Medical Officer.
The Secondprize will be getting a refit as well, which Captain Rydell and Commander Scott Baird will oversee. While that is happening, Admiral Wagner wants Jaroch, Dillon, and Lieutenant Patricia Hawkins to travel to the Starfleet Memorial Gardens, which has been built by Wagner's sister, Debbie Wagner, and report on the stability and safety of the project.
ACT TWO: THE DIVISION
As everyone heads off on their various assignments, Beck and Rydell meet Lieutenant James Terris, who will be supervising the refit of the Secondprize and the construction of Waystation. Dillon, Jaroch, Hawkins, and Ensign Andrea Carr arrive at the Starfleet Memorial Gardens via shuttlecraft while Morales, Porter, Russell, and Jones depart the Secondprize on the Runabout USS Hudson to head for Bracktia Prime. Terris asks Rydell for the complete logs of the Secondprize's encounter with the Multeks, which makes Rydell and Beck suspicious. They investigate and discover that Terris is a Romulan spy. Before they can act, Terris transports them both down to Nu Epsilon Twelve, the planet Starbase 219 orbits. Nu Epsilon Twelve is inhabited by a species of large, unfriendly creatures dubbed Basahm by the original Starfleet survey team to visit the planet. The Secondprize's new Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Elizabeth Aldridge arrives at Starbase 219 and, unable to find Captain Rydell, meets up with Commander Baird. Baird and Aldridge figure out that Terris is hiding something and force him to reveal what happened to Rydell and Beck. Baird beams them back to the starbase just before a basahm would have killed them, and Terris is arrested.
The Hudson arrives at Bracktia Prime, where the officers meet Dr. Amelia Nelson. Nelson has been on Bracktia Prime for several years studying the symbiont species, the Brackto, that live there. Nelson has one of the Brackto, Midon, living in a lab there. Some Bracktians are not exactly thrilled with the idea that they could have a symbiont implanted in their body that would exert its influence on them. A terrorist group, the Hinaree has formed with the goal of stopping Bracktians from being joined, even if they have to kill every Brackto to do it. While Morales, Jones, and Russell go to see the Bracktian president about permission to remove Midon from the planet, Porter remains with Dr. Nelson. Soon the Hinaree attack the lab. Fearing for Midon's life should the Hinaree find it, Dr. Nelson talks Porter through the procedure to implant the symbiont in her body. The Hinaree, led by Preol, break into the lab, and take Porter and Nelson captive believing that Federation hostages will be useful in ensuring that their demands are met. Morales, Russell, and Jones mount a rescue operation just as the Hinaree discover that Nelson has been joined. The pair are rescued, but Nelson is having complications from the joining. As soon as they are all back in the runabout, Morales races them back to Starbase 219 to get help for Dr. Nelson.
Dillon, Jaroch, and Hawkins tour the Starfleet Memorial Gardens in an automated car. The gardens have been populated with giant 50 foot clones of some of Starfleet's greatest leaders. Before the Secondprize officers have too much time to be horrified by this revelation, power goes out throughout the park. The car is attacked by a massive James T. Kirk, who grabs Jaroch and lumbers off into the trees. Left alone, Dillon and Hawkins reveal their feelings for each other. Carr, who has been trapped inside the powerless park command center, is able to get in touch with the shuttlecraft and use it to transport her to the docking bay. From there, she is able to ram, blast, and force her way through the command center until she can restart the reactor, which was accidentally unplugged by a clumsy custodian. Jaroch manages to escape from the giant Kirk and is able to stop a huge Picard from killing Dillon and Hawkins. Carr arrives in the shuttle, and the trio head back to Starbase 219, putting as much distance between themselves and Starfleet Memorial Gardens as possible.
SECOND INTERMISSION: THE DESTINATION
Based on the report from Dillon, Jaroch, Hawkins, and Carr, Starfleet Memorial Gardens is shut down.
The refitted Secondprize leaves Starbase 219 to tow Waystation into position. Meanwhile, the Romulans learn that their spy has been caught. They don't have complete details, but they are aware that the Federation has found a powerful new race called the Multeks. Senator Keldek orders the Warbird Kleenix to locate the Multeks and either form an alliance with them or provoke them into attacking the Federation.
ACT THREE: THE DEFENSE
A week after Waystation was left in position in Sector 42.5, the crew are still settling in. In the Multek Enclave, Captain Wuddle has been transferred to the military and reports to the Multek leader, Frequoq Juletz that a base has been established just beyond the Multek border. Juletz orders Wuddle to destroy it.
Bradley Dillon arrives at Waystation with the intention of opening a shop catering to the needs of colonists heading out into the Beta Quadrant. A mysterious being calling herself Leximas also arrives from the Beta Quadrant.
The Multek military vessel commanded by Wuddle approaches the station, refuses to respond to hails, and attacks. Waystation returns fire, which convinces Wuddle to talk. Wuddle agrees to beam aboard, where he explains the Multeks' view of the universe to Beck and her officers. His government does not want to accept that there is other life in the universe, and, while Wuddle now believes the Starfleet Officers are real, he is under orders to destroy them. He is about to return to his ship when the Warbird Kleenix decloaks near the station. Wuddle accuses Beck of treachery and flees Ops with Russell in pursuit. The Romulans try to contact the Multeks but are unable to communicate with them. Assuming that Waystation is jamming communications, the warbird opens fire on the station. Since Wuddle is on the station and in danger, the Multek ship attacks the Romulans. The Romulans in turn attack the Multeks. Then, just to add to the chaos, a runabout carrying Colonel Martin Lazlo of the Federation Marines|Federation Marine batallion that has been assigned to Waystation arrives with three of his troops.
The marines detect a Multek lifesign on the station, and, after the runabout is brought onto the station, they head out after it. The Romulans critically damage the Multek ship, but before they can destroy it, Craig Porter flies Bradley Dillon's ship, the Atalanta by remote control directly into the warbird. Now even more critically damaged than the Multeks, the Romulans limp away. With the external crisis dealt with, Beck chases down the marines and stops them from attacking Wuddle. Wuddle and the other Multeks return to their space without destroying Waystation, Beck explains to Lazlo that she is the one in charge on the station, and Waystation opens for business.
Featuring
- Captain Alexander Rydell
- Commander Travis Dillon
- Lieutenant Commander Jaroch
- Commander Scott Baird
- Lieutenant Patricia Hawkins
- Lieutenant Emily Sullivan
- Ensign Andrea Carr
- Lieutenant Lisa Beck
- Ensign Kristen Larkin
- Lieutenant Monica Vaughn
- Dr. Elizabeth Aldridge
- Trinian
Also Featuring
- Lieutenant Commander Walter Morales
- Yeoman Tina Jones
- Lieutenant Craig Porter
- Lieutenant Sean Russell
- Dr. Amedon Nelson
- Colonel Martin Lazlo
- Bradley Dillon
- Leximas
- Wuddle
- Admiral Thomas Wagner
Author's Comments
During the writing of Star Traks 4, I started thinking about the idea of a spin-off. I had so many characters running around the Secondprize that it was becoming hard to develop stories that used all of them in a satisfactory way. Lisa Beck was one of the obvious choices for the spin-off, since she had already taken command a couple of times, yet with Rydell, Dillon, and Jaroch around and Sullivan advancing, those opportunities would be harder to come by.
I didn't specifically set out to parody Deep Space Nine with Star Traks: Waystation, but a space station series did seem like it would be a good change of pace. It would give me the opportunity to use civilian characters, such as Bradley Dillon, whom I had had fun writing in "Star Traks 4."
Originally "Star Traks 5" had a prologue on it involving the TV network that made the "Star Traks" television series. There's another story I never posted called "Contract Negotiations" that I wrote in college that involves this same reality. In it the actress who played Beck was trying to get meatier things for her character to do. And all of this came from the idea that the characters would occasionally stop to do the opening credits monologue in the early stories. It was all just overly complicated and not very funny. Both the story and the prologue can be found hiding on the Traks Not Taken page.