Detecting Changes, Part 2

Posted on 11 Feb 2026 @ 7:48pm by Lieutenant JG Mira Quinn

445 words; about a 2 minute read

=/\= Ops =/\=

Lt. Cole led Mira to an office, where several officers were working quietly on their consoles.

"This is the heart of the matter reclamation department," he announced proudly.

He pulled out a chair, and Mira sat down.
"Care to have something to drink?" he asked.

"Uh... just water, thank you."

Cole took two steps to a nearby replicator and ordered a glass of water and one tea. Once they materialized, he brought them both back to the desk, putting the water in front of Mira.

He sat down, then picked up his mug and looked at it. "Do you know how the replicator works?"

"Not really." Mira leaned over to get the water.

"So you've got things showing up magically, and you never wondered about that."

"I don't know how a holodeck works either, or a warp core..." Mira said.

"Hm." He put his mug down. "When a replicator makes this non-organic cup," he pointed, "and the organic liquid inside it, the replicator resequences molecules according to a set pattern."

"Okay."

"Now, where do these molecules come from?"

At Mira's shrug he continued. "We don’t create matter ex nihilo. We maintain reclamation stores drawn from across the ship. Discarded food, for instance—when you recycle that cup, it’s broken down and returned to the feedstock. Engineering’s currently stripping conduits and panels; those materials are processed the same way. So are the cells collected in the sonic showers. Even bodily waste.”  Mira put her glass back on the desk. Suddenly she wasn't very thirsty. She wondered what she'd do when she'd have to eat.
"So..." Cole sipped from his mug, completely unconcerned. "You're looking for anomalies? What kind of anomalies?"

Mira pulled her glance from the mug back to Cole. "Anything we can find...." she took out a PADD where she had written her notes. "I'd like to take data to test out our anomaly modeling. The baseline data would be everything since we left SB 369. Then we have our meeting with the Eirians and shoreleave. Both of these should bring up anomalies of different types."

Cole pondered that.  "What we have is data per replicator, waste unit and sonic shower. For each we have metrics of how many molecules of each type are used or regenerated."

"I'll take it all," Mira said. "If you can mark which ones are communal and which ones are from crew quarters."

"You can see that according to the unit's serial code." He turned to his console. "I'll transfer everything to your station."

"Great, thank you." Mira stood up.

"Let me know what you find, Lt."

Mira smiled. "Will do."

=/\=

Lt JG Mira Quinn
Science Officer

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