Face/Off

Posted on Sat Jan 6th, 2024 @ 8:01am by Lieutenant Commander Rin & Teevs Dosivi

Mission: Season 6: Episode 4: Memory Lane
Location: Intel Offices
1384 words - 2.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Rin had escorted Teevs to her secondary office on the Intel floor of the Elysium. In truth, she could have had this conversation anywhere on the ship. After all, there was really no way a mole could have gotten on board, and no one on the ship was likely to blow anyone's cover. Still, it was habit to keep such things on a need-to-know basis.

After offering a seat and refreshment, Rin dropped down into her seat on the other side of her desk.

"We are putting together an infiltration team to find out more about these people," she explained. "In order to do that, we need to pass ourselves off as a race local to this galaxy. We have the ability to surgically alter ourselves, although we'd need image references. I'm assuming you have some in your computer banks? Or a race that keeps their faces covered in some way. We need a race that we can impersonate without knowing much about them. This can either be a race which is not well known, or a race that has a wide diversity of cultures. Can you think of anything that would fit those parameters?"

Teevs had accepted the offer of a refreshment, and coughed as his surprise sent some water down the wrong tube. He leaned over slightly as he cleared his throat, making sure he wouldn't continue choking on water before speaking. "You're sending a team?? Why??" The disapproval of this idea was clear in his frown, and he set the glass on the desk between them before he choked on more of its contents. "The last thing you want to do is sneak in to Thaih'ea territory! At least on the ship, you have the safety of the vessel and your crew. If you're caught, they will kill you!"

"Killed or worse, I suspect," Rin acknowledged. "However, we have access to a transmission showing a wide variety of available slaves, many of which come from our galaxy. *Many.* The Thaih'ea are raiding our galaxy for slaves. They are raiding our Federation, and the Federation doesn't even know it. So we need intel. Anything we can find out. And the only way we can do that is an infiltration mission. I know this isn't what you wanted, and a day ago I agreed with you. But we are a military ship and I am Chief of Intelligence. This is my job."

A military ship. The news that some of their own people were enslaved, and that they were a military vessel, meant that they likely had some obligation to try and save their people. Teevs hated it, but he understood it. It was like when the Kavai captured Lonian soldiers. "I understand," he sighed, his disapproval clear in his tone. "There's an obligation to see if your people may be alive, despite the danger of your presence making things worse for you and them. If your military is anything like Lonian forces, it's an acceptable risk."

Thinking for a moment, Teevs continued. "For a superficial disguise, a Human could be disguised as a Melnor, or as a Lonian. The Melnor are a quiet species, with ranging cultures, and, well, I hope I have a wealth of knowledge about my own culture. You in particular would have to hide your technology," he gestured to her implant, "as artificial enhancements are... controversial, to some. The hardest part may be hiding your biological signatures. While Humans look similar to Melnor or Lonians, your biology is different, and a medical scan would reveal your true selves."

The bio signature problem is always an issue," Rin agreed. "The implants generally keep me from doing field work. I'm just too memorable. I'm thinking an eye patch for myself with some surgical alteration to suggest damage to my face. Still makes me overly memorable but it's not like we're playing a long con here."

"You paused when you said such enhancements are 'controversial.' Why?" Rin asked. "Were you afraid I would take offence? I assure you I don't."

"It's mostly the moral implications," Teevs answered. Despite the assurance that Rin wouldn't take offence, his answer was a bit cautious. "With the esception of life-saving implants, there's a common belief that technology doesn't belong inside our bodies because it can be taken advantage of to provide unfair power. Biases aside, the Thaih'ea will try to take your technology if they see it."

"We have similar ethical debates," Rin assured him. "In my case, I was captured by a cybernetic race called the Borg which forced the implants on me. Genetic modifications as well. Since I escaped, the majority of the implants have been removed. However, some modifications are too well integrated. I need them to function. And there is the question of how many of our implants should we sacrifice, now that we have them."

"I see..." Teevs knew it wasn't the right time to ask about the Borg, so he mentally stored it away for later. "Well, the Melnor have spots and a smooth... erm..." A momentary handwave in front of his face accompanied his attempt to politely explain the species. "Simply put, they have no nose, it's like a bump where a nose would be. As for Lonians, the adults have a ridge on their forehead." He then held his hand up so she could see it, more specifically his fingers. "About 98% of all Lonian males have four fingers. Aside from those, we seem to be very similar to Humans."

"I'd prefer to use Lonians, as obviously you have more info on them. The facial ridge is easily enough to reproduce. Disguising an extra finger is harder. I'll see what medical can do, although even four fingered gloves would go a long way. So, going with that, help me make a cover story. Simple. Easy to remember. A place we've come from, a couple mannerisms. Do you have people who primarily remain on their ships, always traveling?"

Teevs thought for a moment. "If you pick any of the major cities- Tafavera, Gesalp, Lomera, or Seyam- as your place of origin, that should suffice. Those who can bear children are looked up to and respected in Lonian society, as they continue the family lineage. Lonians value technology for the development of society, not for personal gain. As for a story..." he paused to think again. "While unpopular, it's not unheard of for Lonians to travel. Many prefer to stay put on Niea IV, but the desire for knowledge can send a Lonian into space to travel."

"So...we're exiles? Not welcome on the homeworld. Nasty enough we're willing to trade in slaves. Not interested in sharing our history. Does that work?" Rin spitballed.

A slight grimace at the story filled Teevs' expression. Of course, there were exiles, but they did some real bad stuff and he hardly called them his people. Maybe that's what Rin was going for, however: someone who was unlikely to need verification. "It's believable. Some reasons for essile from Niea IV usually include murder, theft, selling people, or some act of corruption, like misusing technology for personal gain."

Rin nodded. "Will clothes similar to yours be appropriate?"

"Yes." His current attire was a simple shirt and pants, the weaving patterns typical of Lonian culture. "I do have some spare clothes from the Spheia if it saves your vessel the energy it takes to create such things. I have some items that I haven't worn in years and was planning to give away during a future visit to Niea IV. Your people may use them."

"Thank you. It takes minimal energy to create clothes, but I will have the computer analyze what you have so we get the right textures and such. Do you have any other tips of what we should be aware of?"

Teevs nodded, his opposition to this whole plan simmering in the back of his mind. If they were really going to follow through with this, he might as well increase their chances of survival. "None that I can think of, but I'll be sure to contact you if I think of anything."

Rin stood, intending to walk Teevs out of her office. "I know you're nervous about this. We all are. But it's what we need to do."