Lt. Barfoot,

It is agreeable to hear from you once more. I trust you have fared well since our last meeting at the Utopia Planetia Shipyards. I must apologise for the stiffness of my original note, however I was unaware of your posting to Deep Space 13 and so did not make the connection with your name. I do not envy you your current assignment.

I have spent some time investigating the situation and have found that the predicament you are in appears to be unique throughout Starfleet history. While Deep Space 9 did have the same problems, they were anticipated and so the parts were waiting for them when the engineers arrived. I look forward to detailed technical discussions with you on the factors involved, as I have fond memories of your incisive, if somewhat 'quirky' method of problem-solving.

May I ask what equipment you have currently available to you? I believe there may be possibilities in temporarily re-routing the flux regulator of a unit GG223 into a pre-programmed tricorder. It is a temporary solution at best, but may be worth exploring. I must warn you, the simulations I have run have a distressing tendency to end with catastrophic explosions.

I await your response.

Lt. Comm. Sponn
Energy Field Specialist
Starfleet Corps of Engineers