[snip]

Tia glanced over at the Dol and Captain. “If another habitat is your intention, is there anything that would make that a bit easier for you that, perhaps, we might be able to provide?” She glanced knowingly at the Captain. “I can’t guarantee we can provide it. But knowing what would help might give us an idea of what we could provide.”

”..I am not certain, obviously aide in habitat construction if your Federation wished to provide it would not be turned away. Though I am unsure off hand what we could provide you in return for such aide that would be as much worth..” Dol said.

The idea of building another habitat as amazing as this has Tia’s mind racing. She’d have to wait till a moment alone with the Captain. But an idea was forming already.

Glen thought that Tia was suggesting that they leave the Dol with a portable replicator that would allow them to produce an almost limitless range of objects including construction materials for a new Habitat. He wanted to stop her right there. He couldn’t see how he could ever allow that, as the unlimited replication of valuable items would wreck the economy as sure as any Dilithium mine would, while the replication of weapons would likely lead to insurrection and rebellion. While the Prime Directive did not strictly apply here, arbitrarily providing technology that could interfere with the social development of this world was going to be a problem. Glen would end up in the history books, becoming as infamous as the captain of the USS Horizon, who left behind the book Chicago Mobs of the Twenties on Sigma Iotia II.

In any case a portable replicator required a huge amount of power to work, and in the Federation, such huge power drains could only be supplied by matter/anti-matter reactions. Glen would never leave the Dol with matter/anti-matter power that would allow Warp drive development. There was some technology that Glen would be permitted to give the Dol in exchange for their stasis field technology and Habitat construction techniques, but he would have to draw the line at giving them Warp drives.

Unless Tia had a way of getting around those problems then her idea would have to be a “no” from Glen.

Dol looked between Glen then Tia, “..I get the sense both of you are thinking on something?” he queried.

“My apologies,” Glen told the Dol. “May we have another private moment? I’m not sure what my CE has in mind, but I am bound by certain rules, as I’m sure you can understand?”

”..Of course Captain Glen. I will be over here reviewing some shift reports..” he said moving away out of hearing range to give them privacy and to review a paper print out nearby.

Once the Dol was out if earshot, Glen spoke to Tia, “What were you thinking of, telling him that we can provide something that would make Habitat construction a bit easier for him? We could never leave them a replicator or the matter/antimatter reactor that would be required to power it! If Starfleet found out, I’d be busted down to Ensign!”

Then Glen remembered that the Dol had said that the entire Habitat was powered by a fusion reactor, and that their fusion reactor technology was years ahead of the Federation. It was possible that a Replicator could be powered by a fusion reactor, if of sufficient power. It might also be possible to have a Replicator adapted so that it had some kind of “child-lock” restrictions to prevent the opening of doors that should remain closed; the manufacture of restricted technology, regulated weapons and controlled materials. Such a Replicator, that only made Habitat construction materials, might be allowed, but Glen still had no authority to give one. Anyhow, locks can be picked, and technology back-engineered. He decided that it was still a proposition he would need to turn down.

-Glen, CO