Cmdr. Katsim Peri - "Nothing's Wrong, But Something's Off"
Amanda Nordstrom
(( Greaves & Katsim’s Quarters, USS OEB ))
Leaning a bit, Peri peered around Richards’ shoulder. When the day started, she hadn’t expected to be in her quarters, going back and forth with a replicator that refused to give them anything they requested, and instead simply gave them envelopes, replicating paper that hadn’t been used regularly by Starfleet in hundreds of years. Yet, there she was, staring at the envelope as Richards opened it, watching as he pulled out yet another piece of paper, and observing as he carefully unfolded what lay inside.
If asked, Peri would have said she wasn’t sure what to expect. Perhaps the replicator would have produced another blank page. Maybe, it would have listed their names again, but starting and ending with a different person. What they received, however, was neither. Instead, on the page was a simple line drawing of a phaser.
Richards: Well then, maybe we should be more specific with our instructions.
Katsim: Perhaps.
Peri wasn’t sure that was the problem, but before anyone else could say more, they heard the tell-tale sound of the replicator, and her eyes returned to the device. Like before, an envelope appeared. For some reason, there wasn’t a name, and the message sent wasn’t on a letter inside, but printed right on the front - “Try again.”
Peters: …All right.
Richards: I’m not quite sure what I was expecting…
To be honest, Peri admitted she hadn’t expected anything that had happened that day.
Peters: It’s not following a pattern anymore. It’s reacting to one.
Richards: Right… so what should we do?
Once again, Peri struggled with the answer to that. On one hand, the replicator made her ill at ease. On the other, she was admittedly curious as to why it acted the way it did.
Peters: We may want to be more deliberate about what we ask it to do next. Because I don’t think it’s guessing. I think it’s waiting.
Richards: Well. I had thought the phaser has been pretty particular, but maybe we need to be very specific.
Katsim: How specific?
No one answered, and silence settled between them for a moment. Then, Anton started to speak before stopping, as if he reconsidered what he was about to say, then finally fashioned some words.
Richards: I got the last one. What do you guys think?
Katsim: We could ask it to tell us something rather than replicate something.
Since the replicator continued to produce messages - of a sort - Peri wondered if that might produce better results.
Peters: Response
Richards, for his part, liked her suggestion at least.
Richards: Interesting idea. I like it.
Nodding, Peri elected to take point that time and stepped up to the replicator. Studying the machine a moment, she softly made another request, but not something people usually did of the replicator.
Katsim: What are you trying to tell us?
Peters: Response
She waited, and the replicator responded the way it had always done - by replicating something. Yet again, they received another envelope, but that time, no print decorated the front. Removing it, Peri opened the envelope and the message inside. All that could be seen on the piece of paper was a single number.
10
Richards: Well… that’s new.
Nodding slightly, Peri carefully inspected the page, front and back, then held it up to the light. Echo chirped at her pet, then settled down on a couch cushion, currently too comfortable to care much about the mystery of the replicator.
Katsim: It’s a number…but why?
Peters/Richards: Response
Turning back to the replicator, Peri tried again. At some point, they would find out something, wouldn’t they? Whether it was through the replications or another means, she couldn’t say.
Katsim: What are you trying to tell us?
The Bardassian asked. Once again, the replicator produced another envelope. Within was yet another piece of paper. Opening it, she found another number.
9
Peters/Richards: Response
For some strange reason, the replicator in Wes and Peri’s room started acting funny, and instead of producing options, it produced letters. The last two had two numbers, ten and nine. Yes, from the looks of it, that did sound an awful lot like a countdown, but to what? And for what purpose? Generally, countdowns were associated with several events - new years, time til something she looked forward to, the launch of a ship, and…bombs. SHe really hoped the last one was not the indication from the replicator.
As a scientist, Peri always kept a tricorder nearby when on the ship, and she quickly moved over to where she stored the one she kept in her quarters and immediately produced a scan. Tapping at the controls, she started one, then another, searching for anything and everything that could possibly produce a bomb. How someone might have gotten one on the ship, she couldn’t fathom, and it was certainly unlikely, but she’d rather be over cautious than under.
Thankfully, there was nothing even slightly explosive. As Peri ran further scans, now turning toward the more scientific realm than strict engineering one, she sought for other answers. Nothing was unusual. There were no new substances, nothing had changed. There was no reason that the replicator shouldn’t function properly. Taking a moment, she even scanned the system, though Peters had already done so, and it confirmed that it was fine. Everything was normal. So why was the replicator not acting normally?
Katsim: Nothing explosive. Nothing dangerous. Nothing toxic.
She’d ruled out everything.
And again, the replicator whirred.
Peters/Richards: Response
-- Commander Katsim Peri Chief Science Officer USS Octavia E. Butler M239008AD0