LtJG Gila Sadar - Managing Public Opinion? Try Sadar Prosthetics!
Gila Sadar
((Administrative Building, Ki Baratan, Romulus))
It was pure luck of the draw - and a frankly concerning ability to recall the nonsensical scrawlings in a subpar academic journal - that allowed Gila to pull out a map of the city of Ki Baratan on the terminal, but she wasn’t going to question her luck in this instance. The odds were already stacked enough against them as it was - no reason for her to question whatever turn of the Wheel that had brought this miniscule good fortune to them.
Adea: Let’s not split up - take a few to memorize that or figure out a way to take it with us. Then we’re heading up to the workshop - fingers crossed they have a medkit and more disguises.
The junior officers all agreed to the order with no complaints and all learned over to inspect the map itself.
Jovenan: These are public transport hubs. That over there is the Senate, and if I’m not mistaken that’s the local, um, barracks. Try to remember the street network in case we need to, erh, abort the mission and flee. It also helps creating the image of the city in your head.
Gila’s fingers reflexively sought out the pocket that she usually had her notebook in - an old habit from her days back on Mizar II that she’d not yet broken - but sighed when she realized that CloQ had removed that as well… It was starting to border on directly violating how they’d decided to just strip them of everything useful…
Then again, at least they’d left her her anxiety band. Silver linings.
Adea: Right, let’s get moving… A moving target being harder to hit and all.
Jovenan: I should probably go first and look out for any locals. If we’re lucky, they might not realize I’m not one of them. Just… get ready to come help me if they don’t.
Gila shuddered at the idea of what ‘help’ meant in this context. She’d already been party to knocking out one Romulan today, and by the mission profile, she feared what else she’d be accomplice to before they were safe and back on the Artemis… If they ever got back…
oO No! No defeatism yet. Too early. Oo
Gnai: Good luck, sir!
Sadar: G-Good luck, Lieutenant… ::twists anxiety band once (discreetly)::
The Edo Lieutenant left the room first, walking down the stairs with a significantly more confident air than was expressed in her continued concerns about the disguise plan. It wasn’t that Gila didn’t understand her reservations, but between the group gathered, they really only had her and the Commander as viable options.
Gila hoped that going with the Lieutenant was the right decision.
Jovenan: Jolan’tru.
They’d evidently find out soon.
Romulan: ::dryly:: Jolan’tru. I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.
Gnai: ~Oh no.~
Gila jumped in surprise at the Ensign’s utterance, before realizing that this was another one of the telepathic projections. It did little to alleviate the sudden spike of terror that had come with the (perhaps illogical) fear that its exclamation would be overheard. Commander Adea waved his hand at the two juniors officers, no doubt telling them to maintain discretion, and as such, Gila endeavored to stay as quiet and still as possible, listening as the Lieutenant flexed her improv skills.
Jovenan: I’m new. I only started out here last week.
Romulan: Ah, I see. ::raises an eyebrow:: Where are you from?
Jovenan: Near FelKoth, in the western Umrika.
oO Huh. I wonder if the Lieutenant took any classes about Romulan history or xenology at the Academy... Oo
Romulan: ::smirks:: That explains it. If I were you, I would lose that ridiculous headband. Vichrahk won’t be as tolerant of it as I am.
Jovenan: I will. Thank you.
A door closing and continued silence seemed to indicate that the Romulan had left, and the uneasy descent began once again, with the team of non-disguised Starfleet Officers trailing behind the disguised Lieutenan Jovenan a safe distance. Or, well, ‘safe’ was relative in that moment, but at least at a distance where the Lieutenant wouldn’t be immediately implicated were they seen together.
Upon arrival at one of the lower floors that Gila’d assumed to be a workshop or lab of some kind, the Lieutenant entered the door ahead of them, and the three stragglers waited with bated breaths, awaiting her signal that it was safe to proceed.
So long as no Romulans decided to use that very moment to enter the stairway...
Jovenan: =/\= Coast’s clear. =/\=
Upon hearing the confirmation, Gila and the other officers, led by the Commander, entered the room that Jovenan had pronounced clear. The sight of the blonde Lieutenant sitting on the floor, leaned into the wall, causing an anxious look of concern to manifest quite naturally on Gila’s face, as she immediately lamented the lack of a medkit in case that the Lieutenant was in any physical distress, but she realized her mistake as soon as the Commander laid a comforting hand on the Lieutenant’s shoulder.
It was nerves.
Gnai: What next, sir?
Adea: What’s this room?
Gila looked around, and was relieved to see that her deduction based on the building’s layout had not been entirely incorrect.
Sadar: As best as could be deduced from the building’s blueprint, it’s one of several laboratories or workshops. ::Notes the numerous diagrams on the walls, along with cabinets of various vials.:: This seems familiar... Anatomy, Biochemistry...
Jovenan: Those look like replicators. Ensign, could you look if there are any tools or equipment around here we could use while Doctor Sadar tries to get the replicators work?
Gnai: Yes, sir!
Gila nodded in agreement, before turning to walk to one of the closer replicators. She was no engineer, but she’d had enough experience with replicator technology since leaving her homeworld, that she felt relatively certain in her movements as she set about actually accessing the machinery. Replicators were amazing machines, and Gila remembered the utter awe and disbelief with which she’d held the casual way that Federation citizens viewed the act of materializing whatever they required from thin air simply by a voice command triggering a pre-input set of parameters…
The only issue was that these replicators - depending on their usual use - had set programs already input. This building was clearly not a hospital or a textile shop. Which meant that if they needed anything - like say Romulan forehead prosthetics - she’d have to try and make that input manually…
Which would take a while...
Sadar: Well, today seems like a slow day at work for them, thankfully, but we can’t be sure how long we’ll remain undisturbed.
Jovenan: E-even I might need a haircut and prothesis. I’m not sure if I can do that again.
Adea: Yep, and maybe a medkit as well.
Gila nodded in understanding, as she activated the input screen.
Sadar: A medkit and some facial prosthetics, and- ::examines the Lieutenant’s features:: I’ll see if I can replicate a wig.
Gila knew that many of the alien species that had hair follicles on their scalps paid special attention to the styling of the hair, either for cultural or aesthetic reasons, and as someone who had no concept of the importance of hair, she didn’t want to assume that the Lieutenant would be accepting of such a significant alteration to her appearance on a more permanent basis.
A medkit was the most easily replicated - it was a standard setting for all cultures, apparently - and with minor tweaks, Gila was able to have adhesive for the wig and the necessary solvents for prosthetic application replicated alongside it. Meanwhile, Ensign Gnai turned his attention to other matters.
Gnai: There is a variety of engineering tools here, sir. Perhaps of use as excuses for being places? Or for replicator repairs...
Adea: Good idea, Ensign. Nobody looks twice at engineers engineering.
Gila had to agree with that assessment.
Jovenan: Response
The next issue was the wig and the forehead prosthetics… They had to be tailored to fit the Lieutenant’s facial proportions, and making a prosthetic that wouldn’t be immediately identifiable as fake was a matter of precision. Not exactly a requirement easily reached in the current circumstances. To begin with-
Gnai: ::handing over a PADD:: There is biological information here in Romulan, perhaps of interest? ::pointing out the bench in particular:: The PADD came from that workstation.
Gila blinked, confused, as she was taken out of her deliberations by the Ensign’s handover. Biological information?
Adea: I’ll get on replicating, Lieutenant, you take a look.
Sadar: Y-Yes Sir! ::turns to Gnai:: Th-Thank you Ensign. ::accepts the PADD and heads to the indicated bench::
The PADD’s biological information, unfortunately, wasn’t a handy note on what sequence triggered the replication of a set of cosmetic forehead prosthetics perfectly measured to fit with the forehead proportions of Lieutenant Jovenan and Commander Adea, but it was at least comforting to know that there was biological information contained within the lab. After all, that meant that the materials necessary for the prosthetic were likely already logged within the replicators.
Sadar: Lieutenant Jovenan, if you don’t mind? ::turns to face her:: I need to take some measurements.
Jovenan/Gnai: Response
As Gila set to making the necessary measurements, and making the beginning calculations for the replication of the forehead prosthetic, she noted that Commander Adea had completed the replication of two engineering uniforms. In terms of her own disguise, all she really had to do was discard the uniform and she’d be practically indistinguishable from a civilian Mizarian.
Not that civilian Mizarians were common anywhere other than Mizar II...
Adea: That looks like a planetary defense turret. ::he traced up with his cane:: Looks like there’s a bridge across to it from a few floors above. We could use that to attack the shuttle from a safe-ish distance.
Gila felt her heart plummet to the bottom of her stomach at the Commander’s statement. Every time she’d managed to forget what it was they had to do, the Commander found a way to remind her…
Sadar: E-Even if we manage to gain c-control of the turret, h-how can we be sure that the shuttle actually belongs to the Senator?
Adea/Gnai/Jovenan: Response
Sadar: ::accesses another replicator to finish the wig and the prosthetic piece:: There’s also the matter of public sentiment. Sp-Speaking in terms of Dominion Era politics, the entire reason the Romulan Government joined the alliance was because the assassination was orchestrated by the Dominion, right? … If the Senator is sh-shot down with Romulan weapons, would that change history back to the right course?
Adea/Gnai/Jovenan: Response
TAG/TBC
LtJG Gila Sadar
Medical Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240006GS1