Vien Xuan Pham's Aut'akh Leg

[Stripes]

BYOND Key: TheStripes

Discord Username: weakestcreature

Character Name: Vien Xuan Pham

Item Name: modified Aut'akh leg

Item Function(s): It is a prosthetic left leg and foot.

Item Description: A mechanical left leg, designed and manufactured by Aut'akh hands. This one is heavily modified, made much shorter and of plantigrade design to form a human's leg, though the feet terminate in stubby claws where they were filed down. No Aut'akh runes remain on its exterior plates, instead bearing the Holy Tribunal Eye etched on the knee. 

Why is your character bringing this item to work?: Vien needs the prosthetic in order to walk, where she would otherwise lack a left leg entirely.

How did your character obtain this item?: Vien's leg was lost during a raid on an outpost while the Horizon was lost in the Crescent Expanse, having participated in order to haul supplies to the Intrepid before being badly hurt after an encounter with the resident hivebots. Her left leg was deemed irreparably damaged from being shot with a micro-rocket, and was given an extremely basic prosthetic leg due to a lack of insurance and resources from the arc. Having a friendship with Ksshzue Hiza by adjacency through overlapping social circles, and Hiza herself being a member of the Aut'akh faith and a friend of Vien, extended the offer of creating a prosthetic leg to her after discovering the extremely basic state of her prosthesis. While initially unwilling due it being an unorthodox act of charity, she eventually agreed, and made sure to have it designed in a way to respect her own faith of Tribunalism with the removal of the runes and placement of the Eye.

What value does this item have to your character, and what story does it tell?: Being relatively impoverished and without proper medical insurance to receive even a more modern basic prosthetic, the gifted Auta'kh leg is a vast improvement to Vien's ability to walk and perform in the workplace. The leg itself is a literal, physical representation of the bonds Vien has formed on the Horizon, which exist in spite of the cultural differences and barriers of the workplace. The basic prosthetic is a source of shame for her, and though the Aut'akh's leg is still a mechanical prosthetic and is only just accepted as an unfortunate necessity due to her faith, having one that isn't as visually poor is a source of some relief to her.

Sprites: vien_leg.dmi

Additional Comments: Thank you to spookywastaken for the sprites, and the chance to do this to @geeves