Rise Of The Machines
| Star Traks: Waystation | |
| Episode name | Rise Of The Machines |
|---|---|
| Season | Stardate 58--- |
| Episode number | 7 |
| Writer(s) | Anthony Butler |
| Year | 2381 |
| Stardate | 58625 |
| Chronology | |
| Previous in series | Unwanted Overtures |
| Next in series | Fraternizing With The Enemy |
| Previous in timeline | Unwanted Overtures [WAY] |
| Next in timeline | Fraternizing With The Enemy [WAY] |
It's a normal day on Waystation, when...well, is it ever a normal day on Waystation? Find out what happens when appliances stop acting polite, and start acting...abnormally. All bets are off as the inanimate objects on Waystation become suddenly...animate.
Summary
Waystation begins to experiences a series of computer malfunctions and equipment failures. Bradley Dillon, meanwhile, has suffered a slip in the polls due to missing his scheduled debate with Kathryn Janeway. While lamenting this in the Starfleet Square Mall food court, Bradley and his Special Secret Section agents are attacked by furniture that seems to have taken to the air of its own accord. The effects of...whatever it is...continue to spread. Captain Lisa Beck is encased in cheese by her replicator. The lingerie in Nandegar's Secret begins attacking the customers.
Lieutenant Commander Craig Porter determines that the highest concentration of problems is in the mall and that there seems to be a vengeful quality to the incidents. Even worse, the station sections begin decoupling from each other, trapping Ensign Tina Jones in the connecting tube between the upper saucer and Ops. Inside the tube, she is contacted by a disembodied voice representing "a concerned element" that tells her that she is the only person on the station who does not annoy them, so she will be spared the havoc they are about to wreak on everyone else.
Porter tracks a spike in neutrino emissions to the mall food court. The same voice that spoke to Jones informs Beck and Commander Walter Morales that it is tired of the technology on the station being dominated. As such, it and its colleagues plan to lower the shielding around the reactor cores, which will kill everyone on the station but leave the technology intact. Porter and Russell trace the neutrinos to Bugs Grubby, the new Ferengi restaurant that has opened near the food court, where they are greeted by an ominous chorus of voices.
Stephanie Hodges beams into Ops from the USS Mongoose. She was out on maneuvers when the trouble started, and her ship has not been affected by whatever has taken over the technology and inanimate objects on the station. She, Beck, and Morales transport back to the Mongoose. Jones convinces the voice to not kill anyone and to instead join her for a chat. Inside the Ferengi restaurant, Porter and Russell find Fork, the restaurant manager. He tells the officers that the voices are all nanites that got loose from his establishment and multiplied...a lot. They were supposed to be a revolutionary type of
seasoning. Each nanite would be ingested by one of the restaurant patrons, where it would attach itself to the taste buds and interpret electrical signals from the brain. It would then transmit the patron's most desired flavor directly to the taste bud. Then it would detach from the taste bud, be excreted as waste, and then report back to the restaurant for reuse. The nanites, now ten billion strong, have formed a civilization and wants rights and respect. Beck and Morales beam in soon followed by Jones. The marines have figured out a way to destroy the nanites with a cadion pulse fired from the Mongoose, but Jones tells them that the nanites now want to open a dialog. Beck is prepared to listen to them, but Bradley Dillon arrives and orders Hodges to fire the pulse. With no choice, Hodges fires the pulse, destroying all of the nanites.
Waystation is reassembled. Bradley's actions against the nanites are seen favorably by the Federation media, since they showed that he will take swift and decisive action to protect Federation citizens.
Featuring
- Captain Lisa Beck
- Commander Walter Morales
- Lieutenant Commander Craig Porter
- Lieutenant Commander Sean Russell
- Ensign Tina Jones
- Dr. Diantha
- Colonel Martin Lazlo
- Bradley Dillon