UTILITIES

The Deep Space 12 internal utilities distribution infrastructure consists of specific parallel systems involved in channeling matter, energy, and data throughout the station.
The utilities distribution networks include the following:

•Power. Power for onboard systems is distributed by four stages of magnetically shielded transmission wave guides known as the electroplasma system (EPS). All power originates from the fusion reaction chambers and auxiliary fusion reactors and is moved by peristaltic field effect through step down conduits.
•Optical data network (ODN). The Deep Space 12 ODN system consists of a combination of Cardassian and Starfleet optronic fiber runs connecting Starfleet, Cardassian, and Bajoran networked computer systems, as well as commercial subscriber optronic systems. Some 13,655 ODN bundles totaling an estimated 67,900 kilometers of fibers are distributed throughout the station, backed up by 1,300 kilometers of superconducting control cabling. The ODN network is critical to all primary station systems and is partitioned into protected security access levels.
•Gravity generation. The network of graviton producing mats is spread throughout the station, with power flow provided by the EPS grid. Graviton field energy is divertable back through the power grid to even out perceived surface accelerations in areas of decreased device efficiency.
•Atmospheric breathing gases. Conduit bundles for breathing gases and research gas supplies are part of the overall station consumables network. In some cases, a single conduit can carry up to five related gases simultaneously, provided that condenser/separator units are installed at both ends. Dedicated lines are provided for oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, xenon, and argon, with optronically tripped diverter valves and storage tank valves cut into the lines at regular intervals.
•Potable fluids. Transfer lines for most potable and research fluids follow the same general plan as those for breathing gases, given that most fluids and gases stored aboard Deep Space 12 are not corrosive beyond SFRA standard 34.2 d-g. Peristaltic mag-pumps, diverter valves, relief valves, and pressure and temperature sensors are installed at regular intervals along the network.
•Solid waste disposal. The original Nor Class solids processing system consisted of individual desiccation and ultrasonic dry waste breakdown units, each connected to a return airflow network carrying powdered materials to the Lower Core for separation and recycling. This system is now supplemented by a series of six centralized liquid assist breakdown units provided by Starfleet.
•Replicator conduits. Unprocessed fiber and nutrient mixtures, plus potable fluids and trace chemicals, are supplied to all station replicator intermediate step tanks through vanicrom lined stainless steel and duranium conduits, plus stage-4 micro-EPS lines for replicator power.
•Cryogenic fluid transfer. Cryogenic liquids for station operations and research are transferred through short run conduits, with optronically triggered diverter and pressure relief valves at secured control stations. No station wide cryogenics are available; supplies must be escorted by cargo processing staff members from storage to experiment or engineering work site.
•Deuterium fuel transfer. Multiple-wall insulated supply conduits provide slush deuterium to the main fusion generator system as well as all other smaller fusion reactors aboard the station, including the RCS thrusters.
•Turbolift personnel transport system. The personnel and cargo turbolift network runs along 9.54 kilometers of tube pathways in horizontal, vertical, and angled orientations. The turbolift paths echo many of the other utilities conduits, particularly the EPS, ODN, and atmospheric flow networks.
•Access tunnels. These service crawlways, similar in size and function to Starfleet Jefferies tubes, run perpendicular to most station corridors and run adjacent to station internal walls containing end user resident utilities connections, as well as adjacent to deep industrial utilities junctions.
•Auxiliary fusion generators. The Starfleet installed fusion generators are tied into both the primary and emergency EPS conduits and receive deuterium from the fuel transfer network. These generators are approximately one sixth the size and power output of the standard impulse power plants found on most Starfleet vessels.

DOCKING RING CONNECTIONS

Since both the previous and current avatars of Deep Space 12 must accommodate a variety of commercial, scientific, and military space traffic, the berthing facilities have been designed to provide adaptable connections to many different personnel and cargo transfer tunnels. A range of electrohydraulic docking clamp configurations are also possible, within the physical dimensions of the three dock types.
The Docking Ring encompasses two of the three dock systems. The large primary docking ports are located at the junctions of extreme outboard ends of the crossover bridges, Docking Pylons, and Docking Ring. The inset bays describing the docking volumes can service spacecraft as large as 167 meters across where they meet the docking tunnel. This dimension equals the widest deployed jaw opening of the docking clamps. The transfer tunnel has an outside diameter of 15.24 meters and an inside of 13.71 meters, large enough to allow most containerized cargo. In certain rare instances, the central ellipse of the port, measuring 81.5 by 36.7 meters, can be swung out on booms to bring in special pods or entire small spacecraft for repair and refurbishment. In that case, the Transited Cargo Inspection station and adjacent cargo opened between bays would be cleared and later restored.
The docking clamps employ a combination of electrovide the clamp tri hydraulic grab plates and short-range amplitude pulse tractor field emitters. The grab plates, originally optimized for Cardassian freighters, have been adapted to a limited number of other spacecraft types desiring a rigidized connection more robust than that afforded by the tractor based mooring beams. The maximum power of the tractor emitters is 30.32 megawatts, independently variable in the the X- and Y-axes. Dedicated docking data channels are opened between the station and an incoming vessel when the latter enters within twenty five hundred meters, to provide the clamp tractor subsystem with real time feedback on structural force coupling and hull plating limitations. In the event of incompatible data handshaking, the clamps default to active structural scanning to determine acceptable hull pressures. The transfer tunnels deploy variable morphology hull seals from their stowed positions on the cylindrical neck. Once a vessel is structurally stabilized, the seals adjust automatically with magnetic and force field latches until atmospheric integrity is established. The docking clamps and transfer tunnels are computer controlled, though a set of manual override pistons is available for emergency release.
The nine secondary ports can service spacecraft up to 5.34 meters wide at the tunnel, within the widest opening of the smaller clamps. The grab plate and transfer tunnel mechanisms are nearly identical in overall concept, with the exception of the central port opening. The grab plate tractor field has a maximum power rating of 19.63 megawatts, and the maximum inner diameter of the tunnel is 7.62 meters. Manual override pitons are provided for emergencies.
Both primary and secondary docks are equipped with approach lighting systems, subspace, and RF docking aids. All visible wavelength lighting subsystems, between forty thousand and seventy thousand nanometers, are readable by commercial freighter approach hardware, and 95 percent of the repeat visit vessels can read the subspace beacons. Each port supports a minimum of five multifrequency subspace alignment transceivers. The remaining 5 percent of visiting vessels can read the super high frequency (SHF) RF vector beams.
Docked vessels up to 325 meters in length will be protected to a limited degree by the defensive shield envelope. Most spacecraft are expected to be undocked and moved to safe locations, but those still attached to the clamps and transfer tunnels will be able to withstand some amount of weapons fire or natural EM if their own defensive systems are off line. There is some mutual benefit to both ships and station if their shields are active, since some field coupling is known to occur.

DOCKING PYLON CONNECTIONS

The large sweeping pylons extending away from the Docking Ring were the centers of uridium and other types of ore processing on Empok Nor. A flow of input of ore and output of refined materials along the pylons was established early in the design of the station, and specialized docking connections were constructed to handle the mineral and alloy shipments.
Both Upper and Lower Pylons are equipped with the same basic type of tractor type docking clamps as the Docking Ring connections, though the pylon versions are immovable. These clamps are embedded within the inner walls of twin material conveyor chutes, which straddle the personnel transfer tunnel. The chute hatches match connectors on most Cardassian freighters, though some Starfleet and other vessels have been able to transfer test loads through their normal docking ports. The advantage to loading and unloading at the pylons stemmed from the ability to attach to lateral vessel hatch fittings, which can not be done easily at the Docking Ring. This allowed large freighters to dock with a maximum 464.21 meters space abeam before reaching the tip of a neighboring pylon. While the pylon tips appear from the outside to limit simultaneous docking of two or more freighters, the Cardassian ore operations were conducted in sequence. One Upper Pylon would be occupied with a docked freighter transferring its load, another pylon would be processing a load, and a third would be performing conveyor purges and periodic maintenance (PM) and awaiting the next freighter.
The Lower Pylons operated in similar fashion. One pylon would support a docked freighter taking on refined uridium, the same pylon as in the previous example would be in the processing stage, and the third would be in the purge/RM stage. The scheme worked remarkably well, given the availability of spares and laborers to maintain the equipment.
The freighters usually provided the initial thrust of the ore grindings through the chutes with the help of antigrav field tunnels. The antigravs were employed more as a stabilizing and lateral motive force than a purely lifting one, to overcome any synchronization lags in the gravity mat fields between the station and docked freighter. Once through the chutes, force field partitioning of the ore stream and station gravity helped lower the ore to the processors. In the case of gravity mat failures, the force fields would continue moving the ore, though at a slower rate.
The personnel transfer tunnels provided the same adaptable atmospheric seals as those in the Docking Ring, indicating that Cardassian freighters were not the only ships to use the tunnels. A minimum of 2160 man hours of Starfleet re-engineering was required to ensure complete compatibility in all subsystems and allow Galaxy and Sovereign class ships to dock and transfer crew and supplies.
Visual, subspace, and RF docking aids are present in all six pylons. An additional five backup subspace beacons were installed in each pylon dock area to provide long range 4-D location assistance to incoming and outgoing vessels. As with the Docking Ring connections, defensive shield envelope coverage of the pylon connections offers limited protection. Special caution must be taken by ships docked at the Upper Pylons, as they are in closer proximity to the shield generators and must have their own shields inactivated or set to free sync with the station's shield frequencies.

AIRLOCKS AND SECURITY GATES

The primary pressure isolation structures on Deep Space 12 are doubly compartmentalized airlocks. These structures were prefabricated as complete installable units, built from modular components. Because of the construction sequence followed by the Cardassians, three of the Promenade airlocks originally exposed to space were retained as security gates once the reactive shield wall was completed. A total of twenty one airlocks are present on the station, consisting of twelve Docking Ring locks, six Docking Pylon locks, and three Promenade security gates.
The most prominent feature of the airlock is the three distinctive geared pressure doors, each measuring 2.32 meters in diameter and massing 544.68 kilograms. The doors are fabricated from toranium and kelindide composites, with transparent toranium viewing windows. Curiously, not all airlocks were constructed from the same materials; eight of the twelve Docking Ring airlock doors are made from at least 20% rodinium monocrystal sheets, suggesting that the Cardassians were experimenting with radiation hardening the doors against high levels of phaser fire, possibly during hand to hand combat scenarios. The surrounding framing and wall modules are fabricated from gamma-bonded toranium honeycombs and duranium surface sheeting. Integral utilities conduits have been molded into the box structure of the lock.

Pressure seals are achieved through expandable delcromin toroids mounted to the inner sides of the door channel. Backup force field emitters are built into the inner rim of the circular passageway, though the maximum useful lifetime of the backup capacitance bank has been clocked at only 5.21 minutes, should the normal EPS power flow fail. The toroid seals are pressurized with a 72 to 28 percent mixture of gaseous nitrogen and helium, and the mean time between failures (MTBF) of the combined seal and pressurization system is 11 ,300 hours. Periodic maintenance on the seal system involves recycling and replication of fatigued delcromin.
Door movement is accomplished through three redundant sets of electrohydraulic actuators, powered by stage 3 EPS feeds and a backup capacitance bank rated at 5.45 minutes operational time, thought to be enough time to send at least one hundred crew through the lock to a waiting ship. Manual operation of the lock is possible through a release/recapture linkage system that uncouples the actuators and allows counterbalanced rolling of the doors into place. A backup seal pressurization device is operated by manual pump. All primary airlock systems are accessed through standard interface controls. Additionally, in the eighteen docking port locations, the airlock interiors house the manual backups for the mooring clamps and adaptive docking tunnels. The clamp overrides consist of two backup sets of electrohydraulic cylinders and decoupling linkages to switch activation authority from the twin primary cylinders.

Atmospheric gas equalization for docked spacecraft operations is handled by the airlock systems subprocessor optronics. If the type of arriving spacecraft is known prior to docking, the subprocessor opens a data channel to the vessel and programs a variable gas mixture and pressure equalization schedule. Specialized programs are available in the airlock database for some 560 environment types, most of which involve some variation on oxygen/nitrogen atmospheres with nonreactive trace gases. All breathing gas types categorized as "exotic" require automatic safety reviews by the computer, operations, and station security. In these cases, the airlocks are pressed into service as temporary quarantine facilities.
Subsystem access within the airlock is through all inner surface panels. Power, lighting, temperature, humidity, and pressure maintenance devices are controllable. Paralleling the airlock interior controls, all types of docked spacecraft transfer conduits are present, regardless of how many connectors a particular vessel is capable of mating with. EPS power, gases, solids, and fluid transfer are standard.

CARGO PROCESSING AND STORAGE

The flow of goods on and off the station is governed by protocols established by the statutes agreed to by the United Federation of Planets and the Bajoran government, and handled logistically by specialized crews working the 253 large cargo bays located in the Docking Ring, Docking Pylons, and crossover bridges. Smaller bays to which restricted station material is assigned are located in the Mid Core and Lower Core assemblies.
Since the movement and storage of cargo takes both commercial and military forms, separated processing is in effect. Commercial goods are handled primarily in the Docking Ring by civilian crews from Bajor and a loose affiliation of trading star systems. Seventy five percent of the physical storage volume is assigned for incoming cargo on a first come, first served basis; the other 25 percent has been reserved for established customers moving at least 3,000 m3 of cargo per twenty six hour day. Antigravs, container frames, and security are provided for the equivalent of twenty five hundred credits per day for storage and security inspections. Cargo size is limited to the size of the largest docking port transfer tunnel, 3.23 meters in diameter. Removable cargo pods up to 11.21 by 12.35 by 20.13 meters may be transferred through four limited use locks on the ventral surface of the Docking Ring, at the discretion of the cargo master. The containers transferred through the normal docking ports, through either contiguous atmosphere tunnels or intermediate vacuum, arrive at the Transited Cargo Inspection station transfer aisle, where all documentation is verified and scans are taken to eliminate any and all possible contraband or hazardous materials that exceed the station's ability to handle safely.
All station consumables, such as breathing gases, foodstuffs, and potable liquids are routed to special holding and distribution areas and kept separate from bulk hardware items. All other raw materials are stored according to type, with automatic proximity caution protocols in place to prevent unwanted interactions. Like the biofilter functions present in transporter devices, the proximity-caution database is constantly updated with known and predicted hazards. Finished goods are also arranged according to type and are subject to the same proximity cautions.
All cargo containers not equipped with built-in antigravs will be moved with station antigrav lifters according to availability. The three major Docking Ring ports are equipped with large industrial antigravs capable of supporting 9.75 metric tonnes in the local gravitational environment. Cargo massing over 9.75 metric tonnes can be accommodated with a temporary gravity mat power reduction for ease of handling. The normal gravitational level in the Docking Ring is 0.859 and can be lowered to nearly 0.159. However, extra load manipulation booms must be utilized for an additional fee of 870 credits per boom per hour.
Cargo scheduled for removal from the storage bays within two standard weeks is kept within the Docking Ring. Longer term storage is provided in the three major crossover bridges in 108 insulated and EM-shielded modules. The station engineering stores and fabrication facilities maintained in the Mid Core and Lower Core house a total of 3,920.87 m3 in spares, raw alloys, chemicals, tools, and specialized construction gear. These vital resources are protected by Starfleet and Bajoran security teams. In addition, in the event of combat hostilities or natural disaster, all cargo left aboard Deep Space 12 may be considered available to aid in station survival under the revised 2372-SD49538.51 Sector Trade Contact. Every effort would be made to restore, replace, and return any material commandeered after the end of the crisis.

ATTITUDE AND TRANSLATIONAL CONTROL

The primary system once used to keep the space station in a stable synchronous orbit is the RCS. The original Cardassian term was axial vector stabilization system; the more familiar Starfleet term has been adopted in all technical documentation. In the synchronous orbit mode, the RCS thrusters were used to maintain station orientation with respect to the Bajoran polar axis. The Y-axis through the station core was kept in parallel with the pole for maximum thermal equilibrium, planetary magnetic field alignment, and radiation exposure symmetry.
A single circumferential series of fifty four Protean cycle fusion thrusters is built into the extreme periphery of the Docking Ring, divided into six groups of four thrusters and six groups of five thrusters between the large and small docking ports. Each thruster consists of a fuel manifold assembly, hexagonal ignition chamber and accelerator, and exhaust director. The technology is similar to that used in Federation equipment designed for low thrust, low residual impact applications.
Deuterium slush fuel, maintained at 13.8 Kelvins and pumped through anti backflow transfer piping, is supplied to the manifold assembly and control pulse valve blocks. It is then divided into six convergent micronozzles ranged about the equator of the ignition chamber. The micronozzles are notable in having been manufactured from 9-5-3 azurine-cortenide, a transparent alloy similar in atomic structure to the verterium cortenide used in Starfleet warp coils. An annular positron beam emitter surrounds each micronozzle, with all beams focusing upon the ignition chamber central axis. The pulse valves synchronize and create the required firing cycle 0.05 seconds prior to beam energizing. The pulse duration varies from 12 to 1674 pulses per second, equivalent to a measurable delta-v between 0.03 meters per second and 1.21 meters per second. Adaptive subroutines in the thruster control processors work to smooth out adverse harmonic amplification in the chamber-firing sequence. The final stage for the fusion reaction is the exhaust director, where each thruster is divided into six independently throttled vents for maximum flexibility in vector control. Vents can be infinitely ramped from straight-through firing (unidirectional propulsive) to diffused venting (omnidirectional nonpropulsive), most useful in rapid control of structural, rotational, and translational oscillations.
Excess power generated by the fusion process is cycled back into the RCS system for pump, positron beam, and other system needs. Initial starting energies are tapped from the onboard station plasma conduit network. In addition to automatic sensor network polling, thruster operation can be monitored directly by visual and tricorder examinations of magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) shunt chambers, located between pairs of thrusters.

In their standard role under benign conditions, the Deep Space 12 tractor beam emitters are called upon to maneuver large masses in the space surrounding the station, including ships and cargo. The standard role must give way to one of defensive operation in crisis situations, when tractor beams are required to draw in, hold, or repulse threat vessels or other hardware. Six primary emitters are located within the defensive weapon sail towers, and six lower power secondaries are embedded within the hull skins of the Docking Pylons.
The primary tractor beam devices installed on the station are partial rebuilds of Empok Nor hardware. They operate on conventional subspace/graviton principles involving the manipulation of force-beam interference patterns. Energies and subspace pinch values imparted to the released gravitons determine the specific vector along which the tractored object will be moved. The two projected fields producing the interference pattern will be of opposite pinch types, and the relative energies in each type can cause a higher motive force to be applied in one direction than in the other. A balanced energy spread will cause the object to be held immobile, and any propulsive force produced by an object, such as a ship, will require a shift in the energy spread to keep it immobile.
The tractor beam system consists of six variable-phase thirty-four-megawatt polarized graviton generators, two per emitter section. Each pair runs in reflected graviton mode as described. A single subspace field amplifier has been cut into the flow path for each of the three sections, deemed necessary by Starfleet for accurate control of the interference patterns. The end emitter blocks are composed of mononkium-himenite and measure 6.1 by 21.3 meters. Power is provided by the second stage EPS conduits in the weapon sails, and can be temporarily stored in the event of a plasma disruption within a capacitance bank in the sail midbody.
The structural connections from the tractor emitters to the station are primarily made to the sail hull plating near the Starfleet phaser strips. As has been noted, the plating bears most of the potential load. It has been calculated that the 10.12 million metric tonnes mass of the station is such that few vessels below the size of a Galor class warship could hope to pull free without major structural damage. The motive capacity of the tractor beam in metric tonnes is inversely proportional to the distance. At twenty five hundred meters, the emitter can manage a payload of 2,300,000 metric tonnes; one metric tonne can be affected at a range of fifteen thousand kilometers. Both examples involve a direct constant delta-v of four meters per second. The emitters themselves are isolated from the plating by kettenite monomer gaskets to avoid unwanted interference from the phasers or torpedo launchers. Interference from the defensive shield envelope presents its own unique problems, reducing the effectiveness of both when running simultaneously and requiring a complex set of sequencing algorithms to prevent field fratricide.
The secondary emitters appear to have been designed to simply guide incoming vessels to both the Docking Ring and Docking Pylons, and none of the 1.03 megawatt devices seem to be powerful enough by themselves to maneuver even a runabout-type ship without some field drift.

REPLICATOR SYSTEMS

The systems required to reproduce various amounts and combinations of matter aboard Deep Space 12 are the industrial and food replicators. The industrial systems are of Starfleet origin and are optimized for most inorganic substances, though organic analogs are used in some optronic devices, insulating materials, and clothing, to name a few. The food replicators are almost exclusively Cardassian and are located in most residential quarters and specialized commercial areas. These crew support replicators are discussed in section 12.5.
Industrial replicators are constructed in a variety of sizes, depending on the specific application. The largest Starfleet unit to date is undergoing systems checkouts at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards on Mars and has an emitter delivery pad measuring 50.3 meters by 72.6 meters. The device is being considered to produce large starship framing assemblies. Smaller, transportable units have been installed on starbases and fleet vessels and are used mainly to produce original and replacement hardware for space and planetary operations.
Two industrial replicators have been handed over to the Bajoran government to aid in the planet's reconstruction following the Cardassian retreat. The units were supplied with an extensive built in database of materials and structures and enough programmable isolinear memory for all possible near term Bajoran requirements. Four additional industrial replicators were given to the Cardassian Union as a goodwill gesture, in 2372.
Each unit measures 2.3 by 4.7 by 6.1 meters and masses 12.4 metric tonnes. The complete assembly includes two matter input conditioners, a molecular matrix algorithm processor, matter-assembly field manipulator, matrix-beam emitter, central memory storage bank, and power supply. The matter conditioners accept material in all states, and sensors within these sections detect and analyze the elements and compounds being received. A comparison between the input and output matter as to atomic weights and numbers will determine the power requirements for the particular transformations requested. Substances closely related on the periodic scale (Standard, Extended 1, and Extended 2) will require less raw power than those which are not. Some materials included in the Extended 3 and 4 scales, including latinum ditensenide, will not replicate due to their high false vacuum energy potential. No replication technology either existing or predicted is able to detect the exact proportion of matter in latinum existing in present four space.
The matrix algorithm processor prepares the mathematical template of quantum states of the atoms in the item to be replicated and reads this template off in real time to the matter assembly field manipulator. If the template exists in the database, it is read from isolinear storage. The field manipulator uses the allocated power determined by the processor to alternately break and recombine the molecular and atomic bonds of the input matter into the final replicated forms. The quantum resolution is variable; most inorganic objects require a less precise reconstruction than that required for edible foodstuffs. Structural density is also variable and is useful in research or test replications.
The field manipulator works in concert with the beam emitter to perform the final molecular assembly on the delivery pad. Once the basic form of the object is locked, the transformed elements and compounds are added until the correct density is reached. The early stages of the assembly are conducted in a localized subspace domain, which is ramped down to a final emergence into normal four space.
The units supplied to the Bajorans consume an average of 3.41 kilograms of deuterium per minute operating time. The system is primarily self maintained by onboard diagnostic and test gear. Major hardware alignments and replacements can be accomplished by Bajoran engineers, with yearly checks by Starfleet personnel. The arrival of the replicators has not significantly altered the Bajoran industrial base and has not produced a cascade of replicated products, including the often assumed prospect for additional replicators. The total energy budget required for operation is high enough to offset the continuous use of the mechanisms and, in most cases, traditional fabrication methods prove more economically viable.