A
Alex Hart
On the planet Koukotsu, an empty lot.
Alex was examining his craft where it was resting in an empty lot. He needed help to fix it up, and so called the ISS ARAXIE’s new mechanic to the lot from the ship, which was nearby.
“Evee” Alex sent to Evee’s communication device, “ I need your help to fix up the Unicorn.”
“Alright Alex, I’ll check out the Unicorn”, replied Evee. She wrapped up her activities onboard the Araxie and left the workspace organized for her return. Evee jogged to the lot where the Unicorn sat, equipped with her array of tools. Upon arriving at the lot Evee greeted her crewmate and quickly examined the condition of Alex’s Mecha. ..Or at least the external damage..
The mecha lay on its back, the only apparent damage scoring and chunks missing from armor, though Alex was actively holding out his hand to the mech, and soon the armor plates began to pop off, revealing the internal skeleton, and one burnt out elbow joint, a snapped strut and a damaged plasma conduit.
“So, how should we take care of this?” Alex asked.
“Hmm”, Evee wondered. She focused her gaze on the plateless sections, and to the internal structure. Her eyes darted to the damaged joint and back to Alex. She paused for a moment before concluding, “Let’s get this arm secured with something.”
“I can have the other arm hold it.” Alex stated, as an arm came across the chest of the mecha to hold the other one still.
“You should be good to replace whatever broken parts are in there.”
“Great”, responded Evee. She quickly got to work on the mecha’s elbow joint. The joint was in need of great attention. The bearing joint on Evee’s side was squished into itself, which also disrupted the robotic ligaments attached. Immediately to the right of the bearing was the fried third-axis motor and many torn cables.
“I’m going to have to remove the motor and bearing.. Obviously”, stated Evee.
First was the motor. She moved the obstructing cables out of her way and carefully she maneuvered her electric ratcheting tool to the head of the first bolt. The first three fasteners came out normally but the fourth was a pain. The bolt was scrunched out of shape making it incompatible with Evee’s tool. She had to remove it another way. Somehow. Evee decided to cut through the base of the motor plate to free the assembly from the frame of the upper arm. After the (surgical) procedure, loosening the remaining fasteners and attachments the last bolt was removed. The motor was freed at last, or rather the mecha was freed from the pesky motor.
Accessing the bearing was easier now and after a few minutes of labor the joint was cleared from it’s ruined parts.
After cleaning up the joint it was snack time for Evee, she took a break for her work. Seated on her bag of tools Evee enjoyed her pre-packed meal. What healthy eating decisions she made, cheesecake and pieces of chocolate! Delicious. But to be fair the snack-meal was balanced with a nutritious sandwich.
“Alex”, she called out, “Would you like to sit down and chat... talk about something?”
“Sure, what did you have in mind Evee?”
Alex replied amicably. Alex tested the fingers in the arm now missing its elbow motors, and found that they still worked. Evee had expertly avoided the wires unrelated to the elbow joint, leaving everything else in working order.
“Good job with uhh… removing those parts by the way!”
Evee smiled. “Thanks!” She reviewed her work and decided that she was very pleased with it. She picked up a ruined component near her foot, held it up and rotated it, deciding whether she could salvage it. Evee looked back up at Alex and inquired, “Hey Alex… how do you communicate so well with that Mecha? It’s like you two are attached to each other…”
Alex frowned for a moment. “Well, it's hard to describe. The Unicorn and I aren't exactly attached, but we aren't separate either. It's more like it's another part of my body. Using it is just as easy as using my arms.”
“Hmph”, Evee wondered. It was a tough idea to wrap thought around.. It's just like trying to imagine how you would control an extra pair of legs.. Or eyes. An extension of your body that wasn’t naturally there before… Would you have to spend a long amount of time learning how to use an extra robotic limb? An interesting question came to mind.
“When your Mecha gets pounded and pierced…”, she started, “Does it damage your own body Alex? … Is it painful? Do you share physical sensations with the Mecha?”
“I mean, I guess it hurts in a sense.” Alex pointed to his arm. “But sensation works the same, for instance I feel pressure through my skin, and the Unicorn senses pressure with sensors. Too much of any sensation causes pain in its own way.”
He pinched his arm a little. “This pain is just the feeling of too much pressure, and the same goes for that part of my body too.”
“That's an interesting way to explain it.”, Evee replied. Then she added, “I would like to learn more about your interactions with the Mecha someday.” She thought some more about Alex’s statement and then jumped to another idea.
“Did it take you awhile to get accustomed to your Mecha body?”, asked Evee. She took a bite out of her sandwich.
“It took a few months to get fully used to it.” Alex answered nonchalantly. “Though it was only in simulators at first, the feedback was the same.”
“Hmm.”, Evee acknowledged. His answer made sense. “Well, better get back to work”, Evee decided as she stood up and finished the last of her sandwich.
Alex nodded to Evee. “So what's next after we replace the parts from the joint?”
“After replacing the components in the joint I think that I will repair the damaged strut”, Evee replied. “I like to work my way from the most damaged areas to the least, when it’s practical.”
“That sounds like a good idea to me.” Alex said, “Anything I can do to help for now?”
“I think i've got it Alex”, Evee responded. She smiled and continued her work. “Wait…”, Evee said just a moment later. “What metal is this strut made of?”, she quizzed. She ran her hand across the strut’s surface.
“A combination of Gartagen Kal’suun and Durandium alloy.”
Evee cautioned, “I can weld the strut fracture closed but I would never be able to restore the metal’s nano-structure to it’s formal strength. That’s just not how nanotubes work.” … “For now I can seal it with a durandium patch, but you should really get a replacement strut.”, she urged.
“Good thinking.” Alex nodded, “I'll see what I can do.”
The flames on Evee’s torch danced into the evening. After an hour of tedious welding the strut was carefully mended together and reinforced with a durandium patch. Evee moved her focus to the plasma conduit.
“I might have a usable conduit back in the ship. Using a compatible conduit would be much better than welding and creating a weak spot in the tube.”, Evee assured.
“That makes sense.” Agreed Alex, “Do you know where it is, or will you need to look for it?”
“I know where to look, but I might have to dig around for the proper fit.”, Evee explained. “My parts are back on the ship… of course.”
“Will you need any help to move it around?” Alex asked, hoping to be able to help.
Evee thought for a second and realized that the whole damaged conduit would have to be replaced with a full-sized one in order for the new conduit to be secured properly. A full-sized conduit for a Mecha that size was pretty weighty.
“Yes, your help would be appreciated!”, Evee said. She smiled.
Alex nodded, “I’m glad to be of help.”
The two left the lot and headed to their ship the Araxie. Once inside the ship’s cargo hold Evee began her search for the perfect conduit.
After only a couple minutes of digging in the collection of conduits and tubes Evee found the one that the Unicorn needed. “Here it is”, Evee informed, she pointed at it and then lifted one end into the air.
Alex walked over to Evee and took the conduit from her. He hoisted it over his shoulder with one hand and looked around. “Ready to go back?” he asked.
Evee was impressed by Alex’s show of strength. She didn’t say anything, but it was quite remarkable. “uh.. Yeah!, let’s go”, she replied.
When they arrived back at the Unicorn he asked, “Where do you want this for now?”
The other arm was also damaged, the plasma conduit damaged in two points running from the upper-arm and into the chest of the Mecha. “I need it over here”, Evee answered, she was near the damaged conduit.
Alex strode over and held the conduit in place, waiting for the damaged conduit to be removed so that he could lower the new one into place for Evee. “Let me know when you want it lowered.”
Evee undid the old conduit and pulled it from it’s lowest point letting gravity do some of the work. After it was carefully removed she let Alex know, “I’m ready for the new conduit. Thanks for your help!”
Alex lowered the new conduit into place, and stood back to allow Evee to attach it into place
Evee secured the bottom of the tube and then moved up to the top connector. After it was safely connected she gave Alex a thumbs-up. The new conduit was installed.
“Anything else?” Alex asked Evee.
“I just have to fix a few minor things”, Evee replied.
Alex put a hand on Evee’s shoulder in a sign of camaraderie. “Thanks for all your help Evee.”
Evee beamed. “Thanks for having me as part of- your- crew.”, she almost couldn’t finish the sentence. She loosened the knot in her throat by admiring her own great work on the Mecha. She turned to look at the Unicorn, maybe in part to hide her emotions. She was better then, and turned to face Alex. Evee was glad to be part of the crew, and she had done a great job.
Alex grinned and gave Evee a thumbs up. “We’re lucky to have you aboard. You should get some sleep, I’m going to put the armor back on and fly a test flight.”
Alex was examining his craft where it was resting in an empty lot. He needed help to fix it up, and so called the ISS ARAXIE’s new mechanic to the lot from the ship, which was nearby.
“Evee” Alex sent to Evee’s communication device, “ I need your help to fix up the Unicorn.”
“Alright Alex, I’ll check out the Unicorn”, replied Evee. She wrapped up her activities onboard the Araxie and left the workspace organized for her return. Evee jogged to the lot where the Unicorn sat, equipped with her array of tools. Upon arriving at the lot Evee greeted her crewmate and quickly examined the condition of Alex’s Mecha. ..Or at least the external damage..
The mecha lay on its back, the only apparent damage scoring and chunks missing from armor, though Alex was actively holding out his hand to the mech, and soon the armor plates began to pop off, revealing the internal skeleton, and one burnt out elbow joint, a snapped strut and a damaged plasma conduit.
“So, how should we take care of this?” Alex asked.
“Hmm”, Evee wondered. She focused her gaze on the plateless sections, and to the internal structure. Her eyes darted to the damaged joint and back to Alex. She paused for a moment before concluding, “Let’s get this arm secured with something.”
“I can have the other arm hold it.” Alex stated, as an arm came across the chest of the mecha to hold the other one still.
“You should be good to replace whatever broken parts are in there.”
“Great”, responded Evee. She quickly got to work on the mecha’s elbow joint. The joint was in need of great attention. The bearing joint on Evee’s side was squished into itself, which also disrupted the robotic ligaments attached. Immediately to the right of the bearing was the fried third-axis motor and many torn cables.
“I’m going to have to remove the motor and bearing.. Obviously”, stated Evee.
First was the motor. She moved the obstructing cables out of her way and carefully she maneuvered her electric ratcheting tool to the head of the first bolt. The first three fasteners came out normally but the fourth was a pain. The bolt was scrunched out of shape making it incompatible with Evee’s tool. She had to remove it another way. Somehow. Evee decided to cut through the base of the motor plate to free the assembly from the frame of the upper arm. After the (surgical) procedure, loosening the remaining fasteners and attachments the last bolt was removed. The motor was freed at last, or rather the mecha was freed from the pesky motor.
Accessing the bearing was easier now and after a few minutes of labor the joint was cleared from it’s ruined parts.
After cleaning up the joint it was snack time for Evee, she took a break for her work. Seated on her bag of tools Evee enjoyed her pre-packed meal. What healthy eating decisions she made, cheesecake and pieces of chocolate! Delicious. But to be fair the snack-meal was balanced with a nutritious sandwich.
“Alex”, she called out, “Would you like to sit down and chat... talk about something?”
“Sure, what did you have in mind Evee?”
Alex replied amicably. Alex tested the fingers in the arm now missing its elbow motors, and found that they still worked. Evee had expertly avoided the wires unrelated to the elbow joint, leaving everything else in working order.
“Good job with uhh… removing those parts by the way!”
Evee smiled. “Thanks!” She reviewed her work and decided that she was very pleased with it. She picked up a ruined component near her foot, held it up and rotated it, deciding whether she could salvage it. Evee looked back up at Alex and inquired, “Hey Alex… how do you communicate so well with that Mecha? It’s like you two are attached to each other…”
Alex frowned for a moment. “Well, it's hard to describe. The Unicorn and I aren't exactly attached, but we aren't separate either. It's more like it's another part of my body. Using it is just as easy as using my arms.”
“Hmph”, Evee wondered. It was a tough idea to wrap thought around.. It's just like trying to imagine how you would control an extra pair of legs.. Or eyes. An extension of your body that wasn’t naturally there before… Would you have to spend a long amount of time learning how to use an extra robotic limb? An interesting question came to mind.
“When your Mecha gets pounded and pierced…”, she started, “Does it damage your own body Alex? … Is it painful? Do you share physical sensations with the Mecha?”
“I mean, I guess it hurts in a sense.” Alex pointed to his arm. “But sensation works the same, for instance I feel pressure through my skin, and the Unicorn senses pressure with sensors. Too much of any sensation causes pain in its own way.”
He pinched his arm a little. “This pain is just the feeling of too much pressure, and the same goes for that part of my body too.”
“That's an interesting way to explain it.”, Evee replied. Then she added, “I would like to learn more about your interactions with the Mecha someday.” She thought some more about Alex’s statement and then jumped to another idea.
“Did it take you awhile to get accustomed to your Mecha body?”, asked Evee. She took a bite out of her sandwich.
“It took a few months to get fully used to it.” Alex answered nonchalantly. “Though it was only in simulators at first, the feedback was the same.”
“Hmm.”, Evee acknowledged. His answer made sense. “Well, better get back to work”, Evee decided as she stood up and finished the last of her sandwich.
Alex nodded to Evee. “So what's next after we replace the parts from the joint?”
“After replacing the components in the joint I think that I will repair the damaged strut”, Evee replied. “I like to work my way from the most damaged areas to the least, when it’s practical.”
“That sounds like a good idea to me.” Alex said, “Anything I can do to help for now?”
“I think i've got it Alex”, Evee responded. She smiled and continued her work. “Wait…”, Evee said just a moment later. “What metal is this strut made of?”, she quizzed. She ran her hand across the strut’s surface.
“A combination of Gartagen Kal’suun and Durandium alloy.”
Evee cautioned, “I can weld the strut fracture closed but I would never be able to restore the metal’s nano-structure to it’s formal strength. That’s just not how nanotubes work.” … “For now I can seal it with a durandium patch, but you should really get a replacement strut.”, she urged.
“Good thinking.” Alex nodded, “I'll see what I can do.”
The flames on Evee’s torch danced into the evening. After an hour of tedious welding the strut was carefully mended together and reinforced with a durandium patch. Evee moved her focus to the plasma conduit.
“I might have a usable conduit back in the ship. Using a compatible conduit would be much better than welding and creating a weak spot in the tube.”, Evee assured.
“That makes sense.” Agreed Alex, “Do you know where it is, or will you need to look for it?”
“I know where to look, but I might have to dig around for the proper fit.”, Evee explained. “My parts are back on the ship… of course.”
“Will you need any help to move it around?” Alex asked, hoping to be able to help.
Evee thought for a second and realized that the whole damaged conduit would have to be replaced with a full-sized one in order for the new conduit to be secured properly. A full-sized conduit for a Mecha that size was pretty weighty.
“Yes, your help would be appreciated!”, Evee said. She smiled.
Alex nodded, “I’m glad to be of help.”
The two left the lot and headed to their ship the Araxie. Once inside the ship’s cargo hold Evee began her search for the perfect conduit.
After only a couple minutes of digging in the collection of conduits and tubes Evee found the one that the Unicorn needed. “Here it is”, Evee informed, she pointed at it and then lifted one end into the air.
Alex walked over to Evee and took the conduit from her. He hoisted it over his shoulder with one hand and looked around. “Ready to go back?” he asked.
Evee was impressed by Alex’s show of strength. She didn’t say anything, but it was quite remarkable. “uh.. Yeah!, let’s go”, she replied.
When they arrived back at the Unicorn he asked, “Where do you want this for now?”
The other arm was also damaged, the plasma conduit damaged in two points running from the upper-arm and into the chest of the Mecha. “I need it over here”, Evee answered, she was near the damaged conduit.
Alex strode over and held the conduit in place, waiting for the damaged conduit to be removed so that he could lower the new one into place for Evee. “Let me know when you want it lowered.”
Evee undid the old conduit and pulled it from it’s lowest point letting gravity do some of the work. After it was carefully removed she let Alex know, “I’m ready for the new conduit. Thanks for your help!”
Alex lowered the new conduit into place, and stood back to allow Evee to attach it into place
Evee secured the bottom of the tube and then moved up to the top connector. After it was safely connected she gave Alex a thumbs-up. The new conduit was installed.
“Anything else?” Alex asked Evee.
“I just have to fix a few minor things”, Evee replied.
Alex put a hand on Evee’s shoulder in a sign of camaraderie. “Thanks for all your help Evee.”
Evee beamed. “Thanks for having me as part of- your- crew.”, she almost couldn’t finish the sentence. She loosened the knot in her throat by admiring her own great work on the Mecha. She turned to look at the Unicorn, maybe in part to hide her emotions. She was better then, and turned to face Alex. Evee was glad to be part of the crew, and she had done a great job.
Alex grinned and gave Evee a thumbs up. “We’re lucky to have you aboard. You should get some sleep, I’m going to put the armor back on and fly a test flight.”
