LTJG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen - Let’s Try This Instead.
Lhandon Nilsen
((Conference Room, Deck 5, USS Octavia E Butler))
His opening gambit…rolled low. On the 20-sided die, he got a five, maybe a six
Nilsen: er…erm. I am Lt Lhandon Joseph Nilsen. I am the representative for the United Federation of Planets. We are here to discuss terms and secure rights to the duranium ore. Now let's start by being honest with each other.
Taggart: I would hope, Lieutenant Nilsen, that our being honest with each other went without saying.
He noticed Mel take a deep breath as Taggart picked up on that and struck.
Martinson: So, good to identify yourself. Good to identify who you work for. Good to identify your reasons for being there. But you left a huge opening there. It assumes a lack of trust.
And that threw him off slightly. A huge opening and assuming a lack of trust. He wondered.
Nilsen: Ah okay, that's how I started the King's Path talk, I wanna talk about that after this ::to Taggart:: Hold on, sorry mate, bare with me. Okay back in the game. ::back to the roleplay:: Why don't you tell me about the mine? Maybe how your people came about it?
While Lhandon had gotten his head around this role play being a bit like a Dungeons and Dragons game, he was definitely caught off guard. He had expected a presentation, maybe a worksheet.
Taggart: The mine orbits the third planet of our home system.
Lhandon then realised that the details were up to both of them, just like a D&D, they were working together in this storytelling, and he kicked himself. He questioned why he would ask that question or something about it when in real life he would have done the research. He had done his research before the Chey’d mission, and while it hadn’t helped much with the King’s Path, it had come in handy when he met Fraya and worked out an agreement with her.
Nilsen: And are we the only ones you’ve contacted so far?
Taggart: At present, yes. We do have several interested parties however.
Martinson: Okay, that last one was good. You're probing and it's giving potential options.
There’s something there. Probing and options. He wondered, is that it.
Nilsen: I'm sure you do, it's a valuable resource.
Had he been defensive? He certainly had tried to apply Martinson’s feedback as soon as he could. He also wondered how he could have talked about that day to Salo. It was only early but he had gotten good vibes from Taggart and Martinson, and they both seemed like they were down to help him. After all, they hadn't wasted any time in getting to work.
Taggart: We have much more duranium ore than we could use in a million lifetimes. We wish to share this resource.
He saw that look from Mel. Taggart had offered him a lifeline, they wanted to share…sharing is caring as they but…often there are strings attached.
Martinson: That's something.
Nilsen: I'm glad to hear that.
Taggart: Naturally, for a price. But a fair price we feel.
Nilsen: A fair price, that is why are here. To come to an agreement right?
Lhandon could see it coming a mile away.
Taggart: Membership of your Federation.
...And there it was. This was good. He's gone in high, so can Lhandon bring them down
Martinson: Okay, so, of course, you can't offer the world, right? So, now's your chance to get creative.
Nilsen: So you want membership to the federation, in exchange for access to mine. You know I can’t give you that but…
He looked to Martinson to confirm he could go ahead.
Martinson: Remember, broad discretion. It's up to you. But you also have to remember, you have something they want too.
Broad discretion. There was a certain permission that was implied with that, along with the prompt to get creative. An idea had come to him. This had been a sale, and he too had a product.
Nilsen: If you really want it, there are ways, but it comes with strings attached…
Mel said be creative, so…what if?…he wondered if he could get away with this
Taggert/Martinson: response
Nilsen: I mean, it ain’t bad, in the Federation we work together in a kind of union, each planet is represented on the council, we share resources, we come to your aid in times of need. I’m sure you know the details and for the price of single mine that sounds great right? But then, our problems become your problems, just as much as we come to your aid, we expect you to do the same. Suddenly, it doesn’t seem such a good deal.
It sounded better in his head.
Taggert/Martinson: response
Nilsen: Now, if you and your people are sure you want in, then that process is out of my hands. You'll have to petition the federation council and meet a whole bunch of criteria that I can't remember off the top of my head, but that’s a big commitment for just one mine.
Taggert/Martinson: response
He then elected to reframe, a trick he learned from his father. Make the option you want them to take seem more attractive. He perhaps could have really took the point home. punctuated the last line, but he’s still got a long way to go. Yet this feels right for him, like he’s at the start of a path he wants to follow or the bottom of a ladder he wants to find.
Not bad for a cigarette-smoking petty criminal from a farming colony near the Klingon border.
Nilsen: But there is nothin' stopping us from trading. You've got the means to mine the ore effectively, but you've got a problem we can help you with. You don't have as much land to farm on as other planets. We can provide you with agricultural technology to make better use of your limited space; hydroponics, minor weather control systems, and soil reclamation projects come to mind.
He leaned on his farming background. He had used, or was at the least aware of how all three of those had worked. He hadn't wanted to get bogged down in the details, because he could there all day. Lhandon had known that Soil Reclamation Projects were not miracle workers and required soil that could be protected while the project was ongoing. It couldn't have been used to make a desert suddenly able to support a temperate northern hemisphere for the farming of root crops. He had also known that even the most minor weather control systems were resource-intensive in both manpower and material.
Taggert/Martinson: response
Tags/TBC
((OOC: Yes I did steal from some of this from Pike))
Lieutenant JG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen
HCO & Acting Asst. Chief
USS Octavia E Butler
O240007LN1
He/Him/His (Both player and character)