If It's Not One Thing...

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Star Trek DS9 Fanfiction
Title: If It's Not One Thing...
Author(s): Gabrielle Lawson
Date(s): 1996
Length:
Genre:
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
External Links: wayback link to story
FFN

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If It's Not One Thing... is a Star Trek: DS9 story by Gabrielle Lawson.

It was available online, then in print. The print version is spiral bound and has a cover by the author.

Regarding the Print Version

Wayback link to flyer.

This story is available in print!

It's been scrunched down to only 154 pages (scrunched, not cut!). It's bound and includes cover art. For details, see my Stories in Print page.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and all the characters and settings thereof, are the property of Paramount Pictures. However, the situation and all new characters in this novel are completely of my own creation, as are the majority of the details of Dr. Bashir's background. Therefore this story is copyrighted by the author. You are welcome to download the story and share it with others but it must include this disclaimer. Please drop me a line at [email protected] to tell me what you think.

Acknowledgements: I'd like to thank Karl Smith and Doug Williams for their help in knowledge and resources for the writing of this book. I'd also like to thank the newsgroup alt.startrek.creative on the Internet. This was my first effort at writing Star Trek or even science fiction. The feedback I received after posting as encouraged me to keep it up. And the Award for Best DS9 Story 1996 was the best Pick-Me-Up I ever received. Thanks.

I also thank God for giving me the ability to write, the Czech Republic for giving me the time, and Paramount for putting Deep Space Nine on the air. I'd also like to thank Siddig El Fadil. Without his portrayal to bring Dr. Julian Bashir to life, there wouldn't have been a story to write at all.

Historian's Note: This story takes place before the episode "Life Support" in the second season. The Dominion has not yet become a major threat. [1]

Author's Notes

It's a very complicated piece, but I think it's a lot of fun. It took one year to write and I posted it on alt.startrek.creative when I returned to the States and heard there was such a place. That was in 1996. The story is called If It's Not One Thing. . . . and it won alt.startrek.creative's Best DS9 Story award for 1996. It was recently honored with a Story of the Month award for March 2001 by the voters at The Darkness Within. Since then, the show has negated the backstory I had built for Bashir. I usually incorporate the history of my previous stories into the new ones, and that includes If It's Not...., though I (and my readers) politely ignore what no longer fits (Julian's backstory) and keep the rest (the mysteries, the Gidari, the other events). [2]

Reactions and Reviews

Took a while [to download], as it's a longy. But it was, indeed, worth the time. I was struck by two things. First, the amount of *time* that went into this story. It's a novel-length tale, and must have taken her months to complete. And it's *free* folks. She did it for free, and we have the chance to enjoy the fruit of her labor. It's easily as entertaining (probably more so) than some of the Pocketbook novels. Second, it was a highly complex plot. It wasn't a chore to read, but kept pulling me along. Besides, anyone who starts her story by talking about historians' love of historical buildings has got MY attention! Ha! Good job, Gabrielle! [3]

"If It's Not One Thing..." is, in my opinion, an excellent venture into Dr. Julian Bashir's family history, which apparently has some very interesting skeletons hidden away in the closet's crawlspace. The revelations made about Julian's actual family ties are surprising to say the least, and Gabrielle presents a soul-stirring account of how both Bashir and Dr. Grant, his true father, struggle to overcome their resentment towards each other stemming from a tragically fatal accident that tore the family apart over twenty-five years past. The epilogue was an emotional piece-de-resistance, when Julian meets the sister he never knew. It's enough to make even the most macho of men choke up. :)

Intermixed with this personal development is the actual story, a classic 'whodunit' murder mystery. Gabrielle's writing was fantastic in this regard - I was still guessing right up until the end. With the complication of the Gidari, an enigmatic race of ritualistic isolationists, there's absolutely no doubt why it was such a challenge pinning down the culprit.

If memory serves, Gabrielle was planning to write a continuation of Bashir's reacquaintence with his new/old family, although this information is at least 6 months old. At any rate I look forward to reading it. I also encourage everyone to read "If It's Not One Thing...", you won't be disappointed. [4]

A long, but excellent story (novel, more like). It's definitely worth the read. Non-canon, set in the 2nd season of DS9. An alternate look on Bashir's past, and then some more plot stuck in there as well. Again, can't recommend this one enough.[5]

References