The Situation

[WxMurray 0]

“Estimate?”

 

“Give me another day or so. The hardware replicators can’t work that fast.”

 

“Yeah, well, the faster the better. I’m not sure I can handle much more field rations.”

 

Murray got up and moved over to a console and sat down. He picked up a stack of circuit panels and sorted out the reusable ones. Things were not going well. As the aux generator started to die, he had to start shutting down various systems to keep the most essential ones running. The food replicator had been the first thing to go. He also had to shut down the PA system; shift changes and other important announcements were now made via combadge. Life support was the most recent thing to go. It felt odd to Murray that life support was not a vital system. Since the Primus was a Minshara-class planet, though, there really wasn’t a need for circulated air. With the local summer well under way, it got hot in the station, but the team preferred to sweat and suffer than to lose the hardware replicator.

 

“Ugh. It is really hot in here.”

 

Murray looked over at the console that had a pair of legs sticking out of it. “Are you alright in there, Jay?”

 

Crewman Jason “Jay” Williams shimmied out from underneath the console and sat up. “It sure gets hot under there.”

 

“Why don’t you take a break? I think I’ve got some packaged water over there,” Murray said, indicating a pile of padds, tools, and his uniform jacket.

 

As Williams rooted through the pile, Murray turned back to his panels. “Whoever took these out did a pretty good job. Let’s try and augment that generator soon so we can get another hardware replicator going.”

 

“Dickinson to Murray. You might want to get out here, sir.”

 

Murray sighed as he tapped his combadge. “On my way.”