Lt. Commander Anath G'Renn - Engineering, Have You Tried Turning It off and on Again?

[Anath G'Renn]

((Primary Sickbay Facility - Deck 12, USS Constitution-B))

 

G'Renn: We’ve been having some problems with hypospray vials. Either the components don’t replicate together or there are defects in the vial that cause it to spring leaks.

 

Horne: Let's ask for one of those and I can take some readings to see what's going on.

 

G'Renn: Good idea. ::Anath turned to the replicator.:: Computer, 25 ccs of terakine.

 

For once the replicator chimed in acknowledgement and started working right away. More often than not it would encounter some kind of error and stop working before replicating the item or just deny the request. Anath hadn’t entirely ruled out the possibility the replicator was just trying to spite her personally. The alcove in the middle of the replicator illuminated and the requested medication appeared in a whirl of transporter-like energy.

 

Anath picked the vial up and glanced at it. The terakine was at least still in the vial. But she could see a few cracks across the transparent tube. Some were deep and very discernible while others were faint. It was about what she had expected from the faulty replicator.

 

Horne: Recording data.

 

G’Renn: There are a few cracks in the surface. At least the terakine is staying in the vial. ::She looked over the vial in her hand, looking at the entire surface for other faults.:: There’s not really any discernible pattern to it. It’s just random gaps in the wall of the vial.

 

She knelt down and held the vial out to Lieutenant Horne. Perhaps he would spot some small detail she didn’t see as significant?

 

Horne: Hmm.  Definitely something going on here.

 

G’Renn: Anything obvious from the internal components?

 

Horne: Maybe a pattern buffer issue, short cycling before the process is complete which is why the vial isn't completely formed.

 

Pattern buffers were something she always associated with the transporter. Then again, the two were related technologies. From what she knew it sounded like a plausible explanation. She didn’t have any better ideas and would leave the technical problems to the engineer.

 

G'Renn: That makes sense to me. Do you think this particular replicator just has a faulty pattern buffer or do you think it’s part of some bigger issue?

 

A failing pattern buffer could be coincidental. But it seemed more likely that it was part of the damage from the battle. Probably a power surge, which could have impacted other replicators. If she was remembering correctly replicators were on their own system of power feeds.

 

Horne: We can adjust this one independently but I'm definitely going to make a note for the entire system.  Can we check on the medicine itself?  Terakine was it?

 

G'Renn: Yes, I can check the purity.

 

When the replicator first started malfunctioning it was one of the first things she checked. It was still mostly cure and didn’t contain anything harmful in any of her trials, so she had deemed it safe at that time. The pharmaceutical analysis machine was still sitting on a stand next to the replicator for periodic checks of the output.

 

Horne: If there are problems with the glass vial I want to verify the replication of the medicine is correct and that we're not potentially harming anyone by giving them bad medicine.  It will also help me understand if it's just certain materials, like glass, that the system is having a hard time with.

 

G'Renn: One step ahead of you, Lieutenant. ::She was already opening the lid of the analyzer.:: I already have the pharmaceutical analyzer out of storage from some earlier testing.

 

Horne: Response

 

Anath poured the contents of the vial into the machine, closed the lid, and started the analysis. The machine quietly hummed as it worked, scanning the sample and measuring the exact balance of components. Results started scrolling across the machine’s display. The purity was less than optimal, but showed that the replicator was still mostly functional. Most of the imperfections looked like some of the smaller molecules that formed the more complex structure of Terakine. Nothing that wouldn’t be part of the original solution in some form or another.

 

G’Renn: The medicine’s purity is 97.8 percent. The impurities appear to be either minute amounts of material from the vial or base components of the medication. I’d say you might be on to something with the pattern buffer issue.

 

Horne: Response

 

She saved the analysis results before looking back to Horne and the replicator.

 

G’Renn: So… do we just restart the buffer? Or will it need to be replaced?

 

Horne: Response

 

 

Lieutenant Commander Anath G'Renn, M.D.

Medical Officer

USS Constitution-B

A239402AG0