Thay Siu Gaeng

Authored by Stephen MacDonald

Character Biography

Thay Siu Gaeng, referred to as Lieutenant J.G. Siu Gaeng is a member of the Cheylis, a species of passerine life forms who form a collective consciousness by telepathically interlinking with each other and they use a host, a species that also evolved on Cheylonia called the M’Balo, a small species of primitive primate which stand at around 1.6 meters tall with 2 opposable thumbs per hand, double jointed knees and elbows and pale pink skin, with 4 eyes.

Thay Siu Gaeng is not a single organism, but a collective siphonophore created by the telepathic interlink of the 35 Cheylis and the M’Balo that form the colony, with the 36 minds forming the individual hive intelligence that is the individual they know.

Born on Cheylonia, the colony was initially not granted an MBalo as is the initiation rite of their people until the flock contributed an answer to a problem set by the council as a hive mind, developing an interest in science. The flock, born in 2370 were only 4 years old when their analysis of Breen Biology allowed them to re-engineer a dangerous virus that induced rapid aging in a manner similar to Progeria to target only the Breen, being responsible for bombing campaigns against Breen colonies and forcing them to leave Cheylissan Space at the threat of creating an instantly lethal and highly infectious pathogen and deploying it on their homeworld, having already proven their reverse-engineered Nacene technology to be more than a match for the Breen’s invasion fleet, despite the Breen having a larger fleet.

Shaken by their experience during the Dominion War, Thay Siu Gaeng was concerned with their continued usage of biological warfare and stated to the council, upon which their brood father was a member of that it made them as bad as their enemies. As time and technology developed, Thay was responsible in influencing Council Policy that they should not make themselves known as warmongerers and savages, but as healers and that the peaceful co-operation with other species was not only possible as they were not all aggressive based on their data, but more beneficial and less taxing than constant war.

After the end of the Dominion War, the USS Nova was sent to investigate records from the Breen about a “bird-like species of killers” who “rendered entire worlds uninhabitable with deadly biological pathogens”. The Cheylissan Council used a cloaking field to hide their planets from view, using captured Romulan Cloaking Devices and reverse-engineering them, hiding from sight as they would in nature form natural predators.

Official contact was opened in 2380 when the Science Vessel Thay Siu Gaeng was on encountered Kessik-IV in a survey of systems, hearing the warning about the planet being under quarantine due to a plague. Using their biotechnology prowess, they safely obtained a sample of the Telurian Plague and analyzed it and the populace, curious about the disease with the military wanting to use it as a possible weapon in their reserves. Thay Siu Gaeng learnt more about the people down there and expressed interest in the Federation ideals since it was a step away from their bloodstained history and in his opinion, misuse of science and technology. It took 2 weeks to completely map the plague’s RNA sequence, but they soon developed a cure in a nanovirus that would attack and destroy the disease while inoculating the uninfected against the disease. 3 days later, they de-cloaked and opened dialogue with colony, offering the cure in exchange for unique Federation technology, wanting a replicator system to create more of the cure and to analyze it since it was technology unknown to them.

The leader of the colony quickly agreed, with the Cheylis vessel firing biobeams into the atmosphere and spreading the cure throughout the planet in an hour. Official talks quickly began as cultural exchanges were arranged for mutual learning, with the Cheylis viewing the Federation as a useful ally for protection against aggressors like the Breen or the Cardassians since despite having advanced technology, they were still building populace and ships to be considered a space power in their own right.

After discussion with Bancha Siu Gaeng, Thay offered himself in the cultural exchange, being a highly competent scientist and doctor who would work aboard a Federation Starship to understand their principles while a Betazoid Chief Counselor would be assigned to a Cheylis vessel to understand how they worked, since the Cheylis requested a telepath since they find vocal communication odd and inefficient.

Being assigned to the USS Ark Angel as a Science JO after familiarizing himself with Federation training and procedure for years as well as genetically modifying their M’balo to have proper vocal chords, Thay Siu Gaeng set forth in the name of mutual understanding, co-operation and trust.