Captain James Kirk was really hungry. Fortunately, thanks to the Enterprise's food synthesizers, he could get food easily and without depending on cooks. He approached the replicator food card slot. Kirk's favorite meal was mutton under wine sauce. It was a festive dish, but James decided he could indulge himself that day.
He took the "mutton under wine sauce" card and put it in the slot. It made a strange noise, hissed, light indicators blinked, and the door finally slid open. Kirk looked at it, looking forward to the scent of mutton. But there was nothing in the "dumb waiter", not even a tray.
Before Kirk understood what had been happened, his comm. link on the wall whistled, showing that somebody was calling for him. He took it.
— Kirk here.
— It's Scotty, sir. I think I have to report a malfunction.
— What's happened?
— Because of some incomprehensible reason the transporter has transported… a tray with mutton on it. It appeared from nowhere, Captain.
Kirk looked at the empty food synthesizer and answered:
— Don't worry, Scotty. Can you beam my plate to the mess hall?
— Of course, sir.
— Good. Over.
In a half a minute the plate was in front of Kirk. The hungry captain was glad to get rid of his stomach growls. However, he hardly pushed the tray closer as the food synthesizer started to hiss again. "Now what?" thought the still hungry and annoyed Kirk.
The slot hurried to answer the captain's question. It opened, and to his surprise, Lt. Harkins, folded as an old banknote, fell out from the cabin. The captain was at once more concerned about the incapacitated crewman than he was about his food. To add to his misfortunes, the comm. link whistled again.
— What now?
— It's Scot again, sir. Is Lt. Harkins in the dining room?
— Yes, Scotty. — Kirk started to guess what had happened.
— He was transported from the planet's surface. I think it's a transporter malfunction, in which the food synthesizer and the transporter switched their functions. We can fix it, sir.
— OK, Scotty. Kirk said with a sigh.- Fix it, and fix it fast, please. Let Dr. McCoy know about Harkins. He's unconscious. And, Scotty, one more thing.
— What, sir?
Kirk looked at the plate.
— Please turn all the comm. links off for the next fifteen minutes.
— Aye, sir.
— Over.
The hungry USS Enterprise captain James Kirk took the plate into his arms. It was the most precious commodity at that time for him. In that fifteen minutes, the world would vanish for him. He sighed again and started to eat.