Object

Mintakan Disguise Garb (bundles of woven cloth)

Bundles of woven cloth fashioned into Mintakan garb: loose, layered village robes of handwoven fabric with muted, earth‑toned dyes and simple geometric patterns. The garments drape to conceal Starfleet tailoring beneath, cut to permit gendered presentation changes and to house subcutaneous communicators without obvious seams. Riker and Troi don and adjust the cloth as active disguises—Troi corrects Riker’s posture and fit while Data monitors their movements through a filtered com link.

4 appearances

Purpose

To serve as disguises and culturally appropriate clothing for undercover immersion among Mintakan villagers, enabling concealment of Starfleet identity and facilitation of social interaction.

Significance

Functions as the tactical tool that enables Riker and Troi’s immersion and covert engagement on Mintaka Three; its use marks the mission’s shift from observation to interference and raises the stakes of cultural contamination and confrontation.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

4 moments

S3E4 · Who Watches the Watchers

Liko Proclaims the Picard — Faith Ignites

Bundles of woven cloth serve as Troi and Riker's disguise while they mingle at the assembly's edge; Troi even uses the cover story of trading cloth to open diplomatic conversation, making the cloth both props and performative shields.

Before: Clean, donned by Riker and Troi as disguises prior to entering the assembly hall.

After: Still worn at event's end; their disguise has failed to prevent cultural contamination despite its diplomatic function.

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S3E4 · Who Watches the Watchers

From Awe to Agency

Woven cloth is invoked by Picard as an example of an invented technology (cloth). The mention anchors the abstraction: everyday garments are not magical but the product of learned techniques passed down, a concrete step in his caves→huts→cloth analogy.

Before: Not physically present in the scene but conceptually part of Nuria's cultural past and present as handwoven garments.

After: Remains an implied cultural artifact; its rhetorical use helps Nuria recontextualize ordinary objects as learned technologies rather than miracles.

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S3E4 · Who Watches the Watchers

The Duck Blind Unveiled — A Lesson in Non‑Interference

A small woven cloth (represented by the canonical Mintakan cloth bundle) is offered by a child to Picard as a gift — a gesture of reverence and gratitude that Picard accepts with a nod. Narratively it symbolizes both the community's instinct to honor perceived power and Picard's refusal to exploit that reverence.

Before: In a child's possession, folded and carried as a customary woven cloth.

After: Given to Picard; accepted with a nod and retained as a token of farewell and mutual recognition rather than as a bribe or instrument of influence.

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S3E4 · Who Watches the Watchers

Unmasking the Watchers — A Hard Lesson

A child-handled woven cloth is presented to Picard as a symbolic gift at the moment of revelation: a communal act of hospitality and a fragile offering that humanizes the encounter and underscores the community's desire for connection.

Before: In the hands of one of the Mintakan children, ready to be offered as a token of welcome or thanks.

After: Accepted by Picard, who nods his appreciation; the cloth serves as a symbolic exchange closing the scene and reasserting mutual respect.

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