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The Chameloids were a non-humanoid species of shapeshifters. In their natural form, they appeared as an amorphous assemblage of tubules. (Star Trek: Section 31)
History[]
Little was known about the Chameloids due to their ability to assume a variety of forms. They were rare enough that even seasoned spacefarers doubted their existence and considered them a myth. By the late 23rd century, one known Chameloid, Martia, was imprisoned on Rura Penthe, where she used her abilities in an unsuccessful attempt to aid the escape of James T. Kirk and Leonard McCoy. As a Chameloid, she was able to change her appearance at will. One seemingly preferred guise was as a female humanoid dressed in a dark brown fur outfit (complete with scarf and including a jacket or coat), smoking a cigar. Other appearances included a small child or a large male alien.
In 2293, she was involved in a plot to kill Captain James T. Kirk and Doctor Leonard McCoy. Martia was offered a full pardon for her crimes if she assisted the Klingons in murdering the two Starfleet officers, by helping them escape and therefore giving the guards a believable excuse for killing them. She initially approached Kirk and McCoy when they were imprisoned in Rura Penthe, and helped them avoid a fight with a large, threatening inmate as well as with a horned alien prisoner. Then, she offered them a way to escape.
Using her shapeshifting abilities, she alternately appeared as a hulking, hirsute male alien to infiltrate a male-only level, and then as a little blond girl to escape her restraints. Helping Kirk and McCoy travel beyond the magnetic shield, Martia then attempted to alert the guards to their location, and engaged in a fight with Kirk, changing her appearance again to mimic Kirk's features. When the commandant of the colony arrived, however, he was tricked into killing Martia by the genuine Kirk. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
In the early 24th century, Quasi was a Chameloid who served as a Section 31 operative. He was a member of Alpha Team under Alok Sahar, alongside Melle, Fuzz, and Zeph. Quasi gained Sahar's attention when he proved the existence of glioclusters, which had been thought a myth. Quasi was highly conscious of life as a series of branching possibilities, though at times this outlook left him paralyzed with indecision. As a Chameloid, he utilized his shapeshifting abilities to impersonate various individuals for the team's missions.
Alpha Team was dispatched to the Baraam to intercept a suspected bioweapon being sold by Dada Noe. They subdued Noe with the aid of Philippa Georgiou, but the weapon was unexpectedly seized by San. Moving to a Section 31 safe house, the team learned that they were dealing with Noe's mirror universe counterpart, who had been attempting to sell a Terran Empire superweapon called the Godsend. Fuzz was then exposed as a mole working with San to pave the way for a Terran invasion, though he managed to escape the planet.
Manning an abandoned garbage scow, the team proceeded to the Crescent Nebula, where San and Fuzz awaited the opening of the passageway to the mirror universe. Quasi and Lieutenant Rachel Garrett remained aboard the scow while Georgiou and Sahar boarded San's ship. The two worked together to destroy Fuzz's shuttle and beam Georgiou and Sahar to safety after they had set the Godsend to detonate inside the passageway, collapsing it. Afterwards, Quasi returned with his team to the Baraam, where they received a new mission to Turkana IV from Control. (Star Trek: Section 31)
Biology[]
The Chameloids in their natural form appeared as an amorphous assemblage of tubules. Chameloids were remarkable for their ability to undergo rapid cellular metamorphosis, allowing them to shift their appearance at will. Chameloids could take on the forms of various humanoid and non-humanoid beings with apparent ease. They demonstrated the ability to shift into multiple forms in quick succession without apparent fatigue. Chameloids could mimic clothing as part of their transformation, making it difficult to detect them without advanced scanning equipment. However, they were still vulnerable to physical attacks while transformed. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
Chameloids have been shown to be immune to Deltan seductive abilities. (Star Trek: Section 31)
Culture[]
Due to their nature as shapeshifters, Chameloids were often perceived with suspicion and mistrust by other species. This led to their kind being regarded as outcasts in some regions of space. Their true societal structure remained largely undocumented. Martia, one of the few known Chameloid encountered by the United Federation of Planets, appeared to value self-preservation and deception as survival tools, using her abilities to manipulate others when necessary. However, it remains unclear whether this reflected broader Chameloid culture or was simply an individual trait. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
Individuals[]
Appendices[]
Background information[]
In the script for Star Trek VI, Martia was said to be from Arc, a location where Martia states smuggling is "an ancient and respected trade." Martia also says that the chameloids' talent at smuggling is due to frequent use of their shape-shifting abilities.
Chameloids were scripted to have been shown with green blood, in both Martia's most common form and her appearance as "the Brute". In the actual film, however, the blood is shown only in Martia's usual guise, disappearing when she morphs into Kirk. This raises the possibility that the blood was perhaps part of Martia's abilities to produce illusory appearances, possibly being illusory itself.
Martia's abilities were more extensive in the script with a change into a slavering tooth monster and a tentacle creature, but neither of these appeared in the final film.
In the final version of the film, there is still one defining characteristic of Martia's appearances, as actress Iman noted; "The only common denominator that we have is the eyes. Everything else I can change about myself but my eyes." (Original interviews: Iman, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Blu-ray) special features) Special effects makeup artist Edward French decided that Martia's eyes should consistently remain the same, as a solution to director Nicholas Meyer being concerned that Martia be recognizable regardless of her appearance. "I designed the eyes on paper and Richard Snell made them from my sketches," French explained. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 2, No. 5, p. 34)
Apocrypha[]
A non-canon source, Peter David's novel Imzadi, has a Chameloid character serving aboard a future version of the starship USS Enterprise. The character is described as tall and fur-covered, possibly resembling the "brute" form taken by Martia in The Undiscovered Country.
External link[]
- Chameloid at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works