“Sir, we’re getting a graviton flux! It’s distorting the warp correlators. Initiating emergency transporter shut-down.” The young lieutenant seemed not to be taking the stress too well.

“Well, Christine, we are heading through the Cygnus Rift at warp 7. What the hell was the transporter doing online anyway?” The Chief Engineer checked the OCD panels with a worried frown, noting instability in the plasma conduit that was probably caused by feedback oscillations from the transport initiator circuit.

“Achilles wanted another hundred Higgs modulators and a fermion transducer.”

“And they wanted them so badly that it was OK to risk opening a trans-copernican rift that will produce enough subspace shear to tear the ship apart?”

“Captain Webster was most insistent. He said something about Earl Grey.”

“Warning. Antimatter containment fluctuating,” interjected the computer’s silky voice, with infinite calm.

The engineer hit the intercom. “Captain, she’s going to blow.”

“Remodulate something, Geordi.”