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Making the Blue Girl Green

Posted on Tue Oct 1st, 2019 @ 1:27pm by Lieutenant Commander Thex sh'Zoarhi & Artan Pirate Helev t'Liun
Edited on on Mon Oct 28th, 2019 @ 9:54am

Mission: Family Detention
Location: Medbay 3, Artan Bird of Prey, 'The Golden Ghost'
Timeline: 2396

In the ancillary Medical bay of the Rihannsu vessel, the ‘Golden Ghost’ that the crew of the Hera was currently on board as part of their plan to rescue their kidnapped crewmembers, Lieutenant Mnhei’sahe Dox and her mother, Jaeih, the ships commander and ‘Master Surgeon’, Maenek Helev t’Liun, stepped in wrapping a pale white gown around herself.

The Maenek, or ‘Doctor’ in her native language, was taller than not and had a short-cropped haircut that accentuated her wide-set, almond-shaped green eyes, unusual for a ‘Romulan’ woman. She walked past the second bed in the much smaller room where sat the Hera’s Chief Engineer and Second Officer, Lieutenant Commander Thex sh’Zorathi. The young Andorian officer had been instructed to report there for the remainder of her surgery to complete her visual transformation into the approximation of a Romulan woman herself for the upcoming infiltration mission.

Due to the massive amount of work required to keep the Hera from flying apart leading to the rendezvous and eventual transfer to the Golden Ghost, Thex had only had time to begin her surgical transformation. On the Hera, the Permanent Medical Hologram, Dr. Powers, had state-of-the-art Holo emitters implanted just below her antenna to hide them. Her usually stark white hair was dyed with a compound to make it brown along with skin augmentation to make her blue skin more Romulan. But there was more to be completed, and it would need to be completed here on the Ghost.

“Master Engineer sh’Zorathi,” The Maenek bowed slightly as she washed her hands, using the more formal version of Thex’s title as it was said on Rihannsu, or Romulan, ships, “It is a pleasure to formally meet you. I am Maenek Helev t’Liun and I shall be performing the remaining procedures required for this mission. Have you any questions?”

Thex was feeling nervous at all of this. She was already feeling very odd looking at herself and not seeing any antenna on her forehead. She knew they were there and could even feel them, but with nothing their she was getting a phantom limb feeling. Still, she'd do it to rescue her friend.

She gave the Romulan a polite smile before speaking. " It's nice to meet you as well doctor. Could you run through everything that still needs to be done before we get started?" She asked politely.

Stepping over, the Rihannsu Doctor slipped a pair of blue gloves on as she began eyeing the Andorian’s existing work with a critical eye. “Actually, your blue blood pigmentation may work in our favor here as it’s not as dramatically as different from green as red is and altering the color of your blood would both take up to two weeks, be quite unpleasant and harder to reverse. Yes, the caruncles in your inner eyes are less noticeable.”

The doctor pointed to the vestigial remnants of the Rihannsu second eyelid that mirrored similar structures in most bipedal lifeforms in the quadrant as she spoke. “Your doctor’s pigment alteration was satisfactory, but I would like to reinforce that with a slight thickening. This would make concerns over issues like blushing less of a concern. Your ears look… yes, augmentation should be a simple enough procedure. You have quite high, Rihannsu cheekbones, which will make the entire affair that much more successful, I would think.”

“I would recommend a subdermal forehead application. While the Baroness Dox and her mother may represent the approximate 25 percent of the Rihannsu population that does not possess the prominent ridging, it would raise fewer questions concerning your alterations in the mission.” t’Liun added, “Though that is up to you.”

Thex nodded as she listened to what was still going to be done to her. Everything seemed simple enough. " I'll take the forehead application doctor. How long will all of this take?"

“Excellent.” t’Liun commented, “A lesser doctor might take no more than an hour. I plan, however, to be quite through and this might take at least twice that. There is something of an art to this, as well. And I also have the DNA transponder provided by your own people to mask your own signal that will need to be placed subcutaneously. But that's a simple injection.”

"However, if you wish to be conscious is up to you. Regardless, you will feel minimal discomfort either way.” The doctor added, touching the Andorian’s ear, looking it over as she did. "Have you completed the neural language training program already?"

Thex gave a slight nod of her head as she allowed the doctor to investigate her head. " Yes, I have. I already knew a little of the Romulan language from a few previous assignments. " She said thinking back to her time gutting found Romulan stealth probes on the USS Firebird. " I'd like to remain conscious as well."

“That will be ideal. Your being awake means I can get direct feedback on each addition. If you could lay back on the bed, we can begin.” The doctor stepped over to the small side table and began pulling out various tools that would be required. “Although, if you will forgive my impertinence, I would recommend avoiding the term ‘Romulan’ among my people. Many of us that believe in the old ways are… not comfortable with the label that the predecessors of the Federation gave the Rihannsu people.

" Understood. " Thex said apologetically as she leaned back on the bed.

"It is no worry, Master Engineer. Few of my people will express their discomfort. It is not our way, generally." The Maenek said in a more gentle tone, picking up on Thex's apologetic tone. As she did, she lowered a scanning rig into position that locked around the Andorian's face and head. "First, some detailed scans of your existing structure. We must make sure we have all the information we need to restore you as needed once this mission is complete."

The last comment was made with the hint of a smile on the hard-to-read Rihannsu doctor as she pulled out a hypo-spray. "This will manage any pain during the procedures and has been balanced to your unique biochemistry. There will also be a stasis field in place that will limit your movement. You will still be able to speak and emote as necessary. Is this acceptable? This procedure will be slightly more invasive for you that it was for your Captain and First Officer and your discomfort likely greater. I wish to ensure your full consent before we begin."

" You have my consent doctor. " Thex said as she breathed in a few times. " Have you actually ever done this to Andorian before?" She asked.

A somewhat awkward expression came over the Doctor's face as she replied. "Technically, no. Not this specific procedure. I have, however..." Then she paused and trailed off as she was clearly pondering her words.

"I have done the reverse. And done so a bit more... permanently. During my time with the Rihannsu Government... before my Baroness liberated me... I performed a number of procedures designed to convert Rihannsu deep cover assets into a variety of other races. It required far more than the cosmetic alterations we shall be managing. I've moved organs, restructured genetic material to recolor blood. I have... for lack of a better term... constructed Andorians... to spy on your people. It is not... not my proudest accomplishment, but should speak to my qualifications."

Composing herself, t'Liun looked down at the Chief Engineer. "So, a few cosmetic alterations and the overlay of a DNA patch to fool Rihannsu sensors is of no concern. Which begs the question, I suppose, of if I still have your consent, all things considered."

Thex was silent for a second before she ran what the doctor had just said in her mind. That was both terrifying and amazing at the same time. " Yes, you have my consent doctor. I'm not going to chicken out when one of my friends is in danger."

Nodding slightly, t'Liun picked up a dermal regeneration tool and replied. "Your crew... has displayed great mnhei'sahe... great honor. I shall endeavor to match such in my work. Fear not."

" I'm sure you will doctor. I just hope Dox is holding up. " The Andorian said as she let the doctor do her thing.

“If she is half the woman I saw before the Captain’s Tribunal... then she will.” From there, the skilled Rihannsu Doctor went to work. The procedures were fairly complex as the Master Surgeon insisted on doing it right. Her work was going to be scrutinized by the Tal’Shiar, after all, and she insisted on being thorough. Micro blood vessels were extended and incorporated into reshaped ears to give them proper blood flow. The brow was built up by replicating Thex’s own cartilege and the new tissue was seamlessly integrated into the existing facial structure. Chemical treatments thickened the Andorian’s skin ever so slightly and increased the olive tint to obscure her own still-blue blood.

All procedures that would be straightforward enough to be reversible, but also detailed and thorough enough for someone to look the Andorian Engineer over closely and see nothing but a Rihannsu woman. And with the DNA overlay transponder installed, all but the most advanced sensors would return the biological data of a Rihannsu woman.

After approximately an hour and forty-five minutes, Maenek t’Liun administered a hypo to reverse the effects of the prior one and slowly returned the no longer blue Lieutenant Commander to full mobility. “You will be slightly light-headed for a moment, but it should pass quickly. Sit up on your own speed.”

As the doctor began to clean up, she pulled down a mid-sized mirror on an arm from the wall panel behind the operating table and put the handle in reach of Thex.

Thex blinked a few times at the stranger staring back at her from the mirror. True she could see the resemblance, but it was like looking at a distant daughter of her bloodline. " I'm impressed, doctor. I can still see me, but it's like looking at someone else. "

"Then I have done my job well, I would hope." The Doctor replied with the slightest hint of a smile. "I did, however, need to adjust the Rihannsu DNA transponder signal slightly as you appear to have a DNA patch of some sort that needed to be masked. Is this something you're aware of?"

" Yeah, I know a bit about it though I wish I knew more. It's a dna patch to stop my reproductive organs shutting down so early in my life that I got from one of my ancestors." Thex explained. " Where they got it from appears to be a mystery no one knows."

The curious doctor seemed a bit more engaged at the mystery. "I only did a cursory scan to see what I was having to work around, but the coding was intensely detailed. I have... I have re-written DNA before at the Daire'eri Docgae'elh research station as a part of the aforementioned work, but that was far beyond anything we were doing. Have you experienced any..."

As she spoke, t'Liun stopped herself and shook her head with a slight look of irritation with herself. "My apologies, Master sh'Zoarhi. I was letting my scientific curiosity override my manners concerning a personal matter."

" It's okay. Every doctor who sees it comments on it. I only wish I knew were it came from." Thex replied calmly having been through the talk with doctors about her patch many at times before.

"As it is, I can likely be of no assistance in that regard. However, I have the initial scan data and can assure you my own curiosity is piqued. If I come across any clues, I will immediately to inform you." T'Liun added, picking up a long plastic stylus as she did and bringing it up to Thex's ear.

Poking the tips slightly, she watched the Andorian for reactions. "Excellent. Nerve connections seem to be strong. Are you feeling this normally?"

" Yeah, I can feel it though I can't really say it's normal for my ears to now be pointed," Thex replied with a slight grin on her face.

With a light chuckle, the first such heard from the generally reserved doctor, t'Liun smirked lightly as she replaced the stylus on the tray with the other equipment for cleaning and storage as she shut down the station. "No, I would say I would feel quite unusual as well to be missing my own."

Then, the Rihannsu doctor's tone returned to a more sober one. "That said, may they serve you well in your tasks ahead as it has been my pleasure to serve, Master sh'Zorathi. A great wrong has been committed against one who is friend and crewmate to you and Baroness to me. May the Elements be with you."

" Thank you doctor t'Liun. We'll get Dox back and make sure who kidnapped her regrets it." Thex said slowly standing up as the feeling returned to her legs.

 

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