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Side Sim: "Replicating" A Leg

Posted July 12, 2022, 10:55 p.m. by Lieutenant Junior Grade Serral Echei (Science Officer) (Lucas Foxley)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander T’Aria (XO / Navigation Officer) in Side Sim: “Replicating” A Leg

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Serral Echei (Science Officer) in Side Sim: “Replicating” A Leg

Posted by Lieutenant Commander T’Aria (XO / Navigation Officer) in Side Sim: “Replicating” A Leg
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻
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It was an unusual request, T’Aria gathered, but not at all illogical. There were simulations and innumerable references in the LCARS, but they carried with them a degree of uncertainty. She understood his desire to reduce the opportunity for error, so she offered an affirming nod.

If an hour of her time meant Serral delivered the limb to his patient sooner, why not? He made a valid point, anyway… there was rarely time to get to know the crew without the excitement of away missions or rampant flus. T’Aria appreciated the change of pace and safety.

“I welcome the opportunity to get to know you, Lieutenant. Allow me to notify Ensign Atillos…” T’Aria untucked her PaDD from under her arm and sent a brief communique asking Atillos to remain at Navigation until the end of his shift. Given the alternative in auxiliary control, she doubted he would contest the switch. “Where do need me?”

Serral pointed to a stool and had her put her foot on a foot rest. Then he picked up the metallic bone and measured it against her leg. “I was right. Too long.”

While they got started, T’Aria offered a simple question that hounded her thoughts since she saw the prosthetic: “What encouraged your interest in cybernetics and biomedical science?”

— T’Aria, XO

“I find them fascinating.” Serral replied with a shrug, returning the bone to the table and then turning his attention to the mesh half-a-leg on the floor. He started building the frame, leaving the top open to set up what would be a knee joint. “My father is an environmental scientist on Betazed and my mother was a Vulcan diplomat… now she stays on Betazed with my father. I wasn’t much interested in the environmental sort of stuff my father does, nor the politics of a position like my mother’s. But cybernetics… The way machine and biology work so well together, to make up for something lost or damaged. It’s interesting to me.” He gestured to what he was doing. “I design it to look like a leg, even giving it metallic bones, though there are technically better ways to give it structure, yet instead of muscle and nerves, machine parts and neural relays will allow it to react and function like a limb.”

~ Lt JG Echei, Sci

T’Aria slipped her foot from its perch and turned to his station, listening intently. His work was nearly indistinguishable from the biomechanics of organic limbs. There were bones, muscles and nerves constructed from synthetic materials but otherwise reminiscent of her own. Its complexity made Serral a kind of reconstructive surgeon, in her mind, and she visualised each piece he described as it would appear in a human or Andorian leg. His work was almost artistic in its realism and it sparked many questions. How did the neural relays react to the patient’s neurons? Did they have to calibrate the system to their unique biochemistry? T’Aria let her mind wander as she focused her attention on Serral, and made a mental note to read up on the science later. She then said, “I can see why it fascinates you.”

“You mentioned this case preceeded your transfer to the Chernov,” she added after a moment’s consideration, “who benefits from your work?”

Serral raised a brow. “Of course it did. Is anyone missing a leg by chance?” Then he turned serious again. It wasn’t exactly a drastic change. “Federation only. Except for special cases. Shipping outside the Federation isn’t exactly easy.”

“Yes,” T’Aria remarked in a similar tone. In all seriousness, there were multiple crew with missing limbs, the most notable of them being Taggart and his prosthetic arm and leg. She didn’t elaborate at the time but made a mental note to mention it later. T’Aria dismissed the thought when he mentioned his main clients excepting ‘special cases’. “Of course,” she said, “we will ensure you have access to timely transportation.”

At least… as timely as the Chernov would allow.

Newly missing limbs,” Serral corrected. He was unaware of Taggart’s prosthetics, and he wasn’t familiar enough with anyone else aboard though most ships had at leat one prosthetic limb aboard. He nodded, “Thank you.”

If he assisted patients in Starfleet and beyond, she needed to know as transporting prosthetics from Chernov meant coordinating with flight control, transporter and supply crew. T’Aria did not anticipate it would be difficult to set up a schedule sensitive to the status of the ship and Serral’s work. She did, however, recognise the utility in starting this conversations sooner than later as Chernov wasn’t exactly immune to impromptu missions.

— T’Aria, XO

Generally no one was going to die of a late prosthetic. Serral knew the Chernov was prone to rather hasty missions. He was hoping sure nothing bad would happen and he’d be able to keep up his prosthetic work and go learning a bunch of new things on the Chernov’s missions. He pointed to the stool. “Put your leg back.”

~ Lt JG Echei, Sci

T’Aria offered an affirming nod and moved to the stool, lifting her foot back onto the rest.

— T’Aria

It took Serral another two hours before the basic frame of the leg was done, using T’Aria’s as a model. With that done, he needed to build the internal components and the outside finishing… that part would take longer. But the part he needed a model for was finished. When he was done, he set the leg frame on the lab table in front of him and nodded to T’Aria. “Thank you for sparing your time to help. I would be happy to repay the favor sometime.”

~ Lt JG Echei, Sci

T’Aria observed as Serral adjusted the frame to his patient’s specifications. Though intrigued, she chose to embrace the comfortable silence, except for a few questions here and there. T’Aria smoothed the wrinkles that creased her tunic after hours of rigid movement and tugged it into place before offering a slight bow.

“Of course,” she said, “this was a far better way to pass time than staring at navigational arrays.”

Serral nodded. “Now all that’s left is the inside.” He said all that’s left but really, the inside was the hard part. He built the internal components of his limbs from scratch. It was as much art as science, though Serral would never admit such.

She snagged her PaDD from the corner of a nearby empty workstation, allowing the joke (if it even fit the discription) to wither away, and turned back to Serral. “I did not think it was approrpiate to elaborate earlier,” T’Aria added, “but your services may benefit some of our crew. Captain Taggart, for example, has several prosthetics. I understand he may soon require a check-up, if you do not object to me directing him to you?”

— T’Aria

“The Captain has prosthetics?” The question came out near immediately. “It would be most agreeable to examine his prosthetics. Typically I work very closely with one’s physician to decide if the prosthetic is the problem or the body is the problem… I have little to do with parts of the body that still contain real flesh.” Serral set his PaDD aside, “When he needs his prosthetics checked-up, I do not object to doing the checking-up myself.”

~ Lt JG Echei, Sci


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