Upgrading the replicator

Posted on Wed Feb 17th, 2021 @ 11:22am by Lieutenant JG Aubrey Miller

716 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Episode 109 - The Dust Settles
Location: USS Falcon, various locations
Timeline: MD002 0930 hrs

Aubrey headed to the Falcon, excitement on her face. She had requested an update to their food replicators and the parts had arrived. She wanted to surprise the crew and hoped that if anything the food would taste better. It was tolerable but it could be more flavorful.

Aubrey knew she shouldn’t but she took it personal that it wasn’t up to Captain Bagwell’s standards. Not that he had said anything but she was the engineering chief and she wanted him to always feel that she was giving more than her one hundred percent.

She smiled to herself as she headed to the mess hall. Aubrey had been young when she had started towards a career in her field. Having a father that served as an engineer helped set the course for her decision to follow in his footsteps. Aubrey had a love for the job even deeper than her Dads. He always told her she was her worst critic and too hard on herself.

Aubrey put her toolkit down and dropped to the floor, going to work to remove the panel. Once she had it off she went to work, removing the older parts and replaced them with newer ones. She took the decouple and tweaked the pattern buffers so that the replicator system would operate smoothly with the new parts. It wasn’t a hard job, just took some time to get it just right.

“Now, let’s see how improved you are,” Aubrey said to herself as she replaced the panel several hours later. She looked over the menu and chose a cup of coffee and a Turkey club sandwich with Swiss cheese and mustard.

Taking her plate and cup to her office, she sat down and made a subspace call and smiled when her father came on the line.

“Baby girl,” Jordan said with a smile. “I was hoping to hear from you!”

Aubrey grinned at him. “I just finished the updates to our replicator on the Falcon.” She informed him. “I am about to try a turkey and Swiss to see if your claim that they are new and improved is true!” They had always had a father/friend relationship. Aubrey could talk to him about anything. She took a bite.

“Good isn’t it?” Her father exclaimed. Jordan waited impatiently for her answer.

Aubrey smiled after she swallowed. “It is a lot better than what we had but it’s no dinner cooked by you!” She grinned at him. “I am missing your pecan pancakes!” It had been there go to meal when they were on shore leave, “How are things going for you?” Her Dad had transferred off a ship about three months before and was working in the yard helping build shuttles.

“I love it,” Jordan grinned. “It was time for a change.” He looked at her seriously. “Tell me about this Guy you are dating.” She had mentioned someone named Dustin in a message she sent. They mostly kept contact that way.

“Dustin,” Aubrey’s face lit up. “He is a really great guy, Dad. We connected almost right away, just something clicked.” She paused for a moment. “He isn’t a crush for me like I used to get when I was younger, I miss him when I don’t see him and I know without any doubt I love him and he is the one for me.”

“I am happy for you baby girl,” Jordan replied with a smile. “

“He is the security officer on the Falcon,” Aubrey continued on. “Some day when our schedules line up I would like you to meet him or we can do a subspace call.”

“I would like that,” Jordan replied. He grinned then. “I am glad the food tastes better.”

“I am anxious to see if the others notice a diffference,” Aubrey said with a smile. “I am betting that Captain Bagwell will for sure and his first officer.”

“You let me know,” her dad said. “I need to sign off now, duty calls.”

They said their goodbyes and Aubrey finished her sandwich and then headed to take care if her tools wanting to leave the mess hall the way she found it. Then, she headed home to get ready for a date with Dustin.

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