Author Note: Ask not for whom the technobabble tolls, it tolls for thee.
"Remember to keep an eye on those power couplings, Ensign. Look for signs of overheating or frayed wiring."
"Yes, Chief. The couplings look stable at the moment, but I suggest we replace them anyway."
"Probably for the best. Now, inspect the propulsion drive actuator. Can you see where it interfaces with the warp core?"
After a moment of shifting around in the tight space, Ensign Martinez replied, "I see it, but…"
"How's the alignment? Within acceptable parameters, or do we need to re-fit?"
"It's supposed to have a Type-7b connection, isn't it?"
O'Brien already knew the answer but checked the specs on the inspection form anyway. "That's correct."
"Then we've got a problem. It's sporting a Type-5b."
"You sure?" O'Brien asked.
Martinez emerged from the confining area and smoothed her uniform. "You can take a look for yourself if you don't believe me."
O'Brien passed her the PADD with a raised eyebrow. "Trust has nothing to do with it," he said, diving into the small hole. "It's just surprising someone would opt for an antiquated interface like that."
From inside the compartment, Martinez heard him mutter something unintelligible. He soon reemerged, looking as puzzled as he sounded.
"You were right. It's a 5b. This is supposed to be a Serelia-class ship, but someone's rigged it with outdated components."
"In which case we're dealing with a non-standard configuration. We'll need to do a supplemental inspection." Martinez began pulling up the additional forms on the PADD.
"Lucky us," O'Brien quipped. "Let's move on to the EPS conduits. I can tell from here the manifolds need replacing. See what the plasma flow's like."
"Checking... Hold on, Chief. This conduit seems to be running in reverse. Is that even possible?"
"Reverse flow? Hand me that... By the Prophets, you're right. It's a unidirectional system but it's flowing backwards. This ship keeps springing surprises."
Martinez recalled a bit of trivia. "During one of my Academy courses, I learned about some older Andorian ship designs that experimented with a bidirectional plasma flow system. In the end it was discarded as inefficient, but it was said to improve redundancy and power distribution."
"Why would it be in use now?"
Martinez hazarded a guess. "Maybe someone wasn't satisfied with the original tests and believed they could get better results?"
O'Brien pondered this. "I can't fathom why they'd bother. Maintaining this system would need three times the manpower. It's one thing to refurbish an old system for show, but to use it for deep space travel? It sounds like a maintenance nightmare."
"Should we upgrade it?"
"Not now. We'll note it and report to the captain later. We can't mess with it until we fully understand what we're dealing with."
"Understood. I'll draft a detailed report."
"Good. I better go check on the other teams, see if they're finding similar oddities."
"Copy that, sir."
"Oh, and one more thing," he called. Martinez looked up from her PADD, ready for additional orders. "I'm impressed, Ensign. You've got a good eye for these things."
She couldn't help but grin.