While I could say something serious about how crew members could be kept in statis near the instant of death or then revived later when the med teams have the time for it, its more fun to think about me crew putting little pellets on the ground and watering them until they pop up as crew members a la Marvin the Martain in that one Bug's Bunny cartoon.
If you don't want to get morbid its probably something like when you get hit some systems get knocked off line and the crewmen stop doing their job. The number climbs back up once the crewmen get back on the job,
If the crew member icons are yellow (in default Fed colors), then they're injured (which means they can be healed)... If they're greyed out, then I believe that means they're dead. Where they replace dead crew members in the heat of battle, beats me. However, as someone else said, they could be holographic, as "Holoprojectors become standard equipment on Starfleet vessels, allowing for holographic crew members."
STO crews were infused with tribble blood. If you do not get damaged daily your crew will fill the inside of your ships like a jelly doughnut. Hull breach imminent.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Heir to the high pony of holier than thou, Guardian of the Sacred Mallet of Thwarting, and giver of Baptismal raspberries since 02/02/2010
Nope I'm sorry, we were looking for jokes that involve the.... let's say.... biology of the matter.
"Hmm... we'll need an army of super-virile men scoring 'round the clock..."
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon
Comments
It's the 25th century man. They are just transporter cloning...
"he's as dangerous as a ferret with a chainsaw."
After all, it's people.
Nouveau riche LTS member
Heir to the high pony of holier than thou, Guardian of the Sacred Mallet of Thwarting, and giver of Baptismal raspberries since 02/02/2010
"Hmm... we'll need an army of super-virile men scoring 'round the clock..."
...Oh, baby, you know, I've really got to leave you / Oh, I can hear it callin 'me / I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?...
- Anne Bredon