Lt. Cmdr. Lhandon Nilsen - Yo Bro, This Is Trippy

[Lhandon Nilsen]

((At the top of the downwards tower - level 0, Kaelith's Caverns, Central Subterranean Excavation, Marohu III))

When Kaelith spoke of what they saw and described the dark lighting, there was a huge sense of worry and guilt that hit Lhandon in the chest like a badly timed tackle.

Nilsen: The lighting shouldn’t be dark? Even at Red Alert. What are you seeing?

Why was it so dark? It could mean anything—power down, system failure, or a fault with Kaelith himself - all of it, bad news.

Richards: If you look towards the walls, or see any computer consoles you might find a location of some kind.

Kaelith: Yes, I do. It has streaks of red lines and data flowing across the display rapidly.

From the description, Lhandon inferred that it was an LCARS panel, but which one remained a mystery. The former ops officer knew that the difference between LCARS panels was more important than some realised.

Tarnas: What about the doors - are they open, closed, or do any appear to be sealed or damaged?

Kaelith: The doors are closed.

Nilsen: Closed doors are not always the worst thing, but not the best either.

To Lhandon's unexpected surprise, Richards seemed to be the more optimistic of the pair and found power in the limited results.

Richards: Well that’s something at least.

Tarnas: Are you able to read or describe the characters on the little plaque by the door?

Kaelith: The one closest to this alien reads “Head”? ::beat:: Is that the front of the ship? A place you store body parts, specifically heads? or is that some type of room for a specific purpose.

Richards: Oh that’s good!

There was almost a chuckle, and for a moment, his shoulders untensed and then a nervous smile appeared as Kaelith seemed to be rather pleased with himself.

Nilsen: The head is our erm… toilet. It's used for erm…

He considered how to word this as diplomatically as possible, and he wished there had been a medical officer nearby to explain this better.

Nilsen: …bodily functions.

Lhandon found himself grateful that Tarnas had moved on.

Tarnas: If you move further down the corridor, can you tell us what else you see or hear? We need to get a better sense of what's happening up there. Go slowly and carefully though, if there’s even the slightest whiff of danger, just come back.

Kaelith: My existence doesn’t move physically, I must seek out sensory systems that I can tap into. I do sense a being heading further down this corridor, I’m attempting to connect with them.

There was a moment before he reported an issue.

Kaelith: There appears to be some type of systems problem, there are some type of videos playing on their devices. The being I’m connected with just entered some type of conveyance.

Nilsen: I can only think of one conveyance attached to a corridor, that’s a turbo-lift!

Richards: Is there anyone else there that you can see?

A fair question.

Kaelith: There is, they are wearing some type of water shaded uniform, when the sky is clear and it’s blue would reflect off the smooth surface.

Nilsen: Blue, you’ve found someone from the science division.

Kaleith: They appear to be plagued by some type of systems virus.

But the moment of levity from before, and then the moment of hope, had passed as Kaelith said the words that brought Nilsen's heart to sink. He had no idea about the Zet aboard, nor did he know what was happening. All he knew was that there were also mercenaries involved somewhere. The description of a person in blue walking did mean all was not lost. Did they not know that there was now a virus? Perhaps that would be a saving grace for them.

Tarnas: Response

Richards: What’s going on up there?

Then everything seemed like it started to go wrong, and Lhandon wrestled with a thought that came to his mind - what if he had just made the wrong choice? What if his actions to allow Kaelith to do this had been the ones to result in Kaelith's destruction?

Kaelith: I’m losing connection, there’s something interfering with my signal.

Nilsen: Come back right now!

His instruction spurted out a little more desperately than he had expected it to, and the signal appeared to go blank. There seemed to be a moment of silence until Kaelith returned to the team's vision.

Richards/Tarnas: Response

Kaelith: I could connect with your ship’s systems, but I would need to understand it’s functions and capabilities to protect myself from their virus.

Nilsen: It’s not like you’re a biological being; we have no idea what this virus is.

Only he was permitted to act recklessly and take unnecessary risks; other people, however, were absolutely not allowed to do the same, and he felt a strong sense of responsibility to protect them from making similar dangerous choices.

Richards/Tarnas: Response

Kaelith: If given permission, and if your devices are free of this virus, I could learn from them. I was cut off by some type of signal more powerful than my own.

Nilsen: A signal? What could this be?

He turned to the other two for their interpretation.

Richards/Tarnas: Response

Then he stuttered slightly as the weight of the decision came to mind.

Nilsen: I c-can't guarantee that any device on the OEB is free from viruses. The only ones we know are what we brought when we came down here for the first time, and not the stuff that was beamed down when we entered the downwards tower.

Richards/Tarnas/Kaelith: Response

Nilsen: I… I don't know if this is the right call. What if - Okay, okay, you have permission.

Normally, he'd made the call and dealt with the consequences later, but this time felt different. This time, someone else's existence hung in the balance. His voice wavered slightly as he found himself caught between two equally uncertain paths. His hands moved restlessly, fingers tapping against his thumb as he weighed the decision.

Richards/Tarnas/Kaelith: Response

Then, the entire party was brought into something almost trippy- they were on the OEB, or rather, they could walk around the OEB; their bodies and their minds were still on Marohu III, but like a computer screen plugged into their vision, they could see the purple carpets… and the room labeled "head."

Nilsen: Erm, okay

He took a moment to get his bearings and then went to a door, his body and mind remaining on Marohu III. To his surprise, the door opened with his will - he wasn't fully sure how he did it, but he knew in this situation, the best thing to do when your consciousness is not in, not near your body, or by all accounts not where it should be, is to ground yourself and observe.

Nilsen: =/\= Nilsen to Arlill, bro, my mind is on the OEB, Kaelith has set up some kind of neural interface for us, and we’ve got some basic control over some ship functions. So far I’ve been able to open a door. I don’t know what’s happening up there yet, but I’ll report back. =/\=

And also call your big bro, that helps a lot too.

Richards/Tarnas/Kaelith: Response

Nilsen: =/\= Yeah, and by the sounds of things, that transceiver might be really helpful for us. ::to Richards and Tarnas with the comms line still open:: what can you two interface with, I seem to have doors right now. =/\=

Richards/Tarnas/Kaelith: Response

Tags/TBC

((OOC: As before, things agreed with Erik before hand))

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Lieutenant Commander Lhandon Joseph Nilsen

Second Officer & Senior Diplomatic Officer

USS Octavia E Butler

O240007LN1

He/Him/His (Both player and character)