Lt. Cmdr. Lhandon Nilsen - Tell ‘em what happened!
Lhandon Nilsen
(Medlab 2, L’Kar General Hospital, Garasi District, Argratha Capital City, Argrathi V)
It seemed as though they had mostly gotten the good doctor on side. Something had been hidden, and now that it was uncovered, he was no longer standing in their way. He was still quite punchable, though. His aloofness, arrogance, and jabs at Nilsen did not win him any favours.
Nilsen: All right, you have my authority to do what you see fit, and Dr Telek, I want full openness and honesty between us from now on. Is that doable?
Telek: Yes, yes. Whatever you need, just ask. I actually am a busy man, but I can supply you with whatever staff you need.
There it was, shifting from berating one moment to offering to supply staff the next. It was as if he had been on their side regardless. Lhandon did not know what to make of the shift in attitude.
Richards: I’m sure that’ll help us out a lot.
Lhandon nodded, he has nothing further to add.
Ragh: Thank you, doctor. We will take a few minutes to discuss things and let you know what you need.
Telek then left the room, leaving the three of them alone. Ragh was exhausted, and Nilsen couldn’t blame him.
Ragh: Sir, can you tell us what happened? Was one of our people bit? Who died?
Richards: Yeah, any information you can give us on that?
His heart sank. He had not fully processed the message and, unintentionally, they had presented Lhandon with a test of his command abilities. Something had happened. He had little information at the moment. What he could say might have caused them to worry or panic. That was what he did not want, but he knew, from Captain Niccolò Del Vedova, that honesty had to lead. It was a terrible situation, and they needed to know.
Nilsen: All the information I have is in this message.
========= USS Octavia E Butler Extranet =========
To: Rouiancet, Captain Lia, (Command Designation) Nilsen, LtCDR Lhandon (XO/Diplomacy Designation), T’Korva, LtCDR (Second Officer Designation)
From: Argrathi Central Command, Security Division
Re: Argrathi, Main City, Ward One Clinic
Please be advised there was an incident that involved the team assigned to the above location that resulted in the death of a sovereign citizen. There will be follow up interviews on-site with your officers for our records, though at this time there will be no arrests as the citizen was acting under duress.
Detective Mokeem Be’Dantha
Central Command/Security Division
========= LKT-003216 =========
========= End Transmission/ Delivery Successful =========
As he showed them the message on the PADD, he then went on to explain the message. He spoke seriously and quietly, with a calm tone, as though he did not want to worry them. He did not want to worry Ragh unnecessarily, but rather address the concern and make sure it was kept in perspective.
Nilsen: It doesn’t tell me which officers, but I know Nis’s team is at Ward One. Acting under duress is likely the system Dr Telek talked about. But until we have further evidence, I think it’s best to avoid speculation and just focus on the here and now.
Ragh: Hmm. It probably wouldn't hurt to check in. Everyone needs to be warned and take proper precautions.
Lhandon once again gave a small nod.
Richards: We should send out an alert then.
Nilsen: You’re right, I’ll get a comm-line going shortly.
Ragh: Response
Anton took a deep breath as he processed the news as well.
Richards: Let’s run some analysis on that data, and see what we can come up with. Maybe we will have better luck.
Nilsen: I like the sound of that.
Ragh: Response
In response, Richards made a most useful suggestion.
Richards: We should also take into consideration what an antidote might look like, under the circumstances that recipient cooperation might not be an option.
Nilsen: Yes. Ragh, what are our responsibilities and ethics in this situation, where a patient is resistant to treatment? And I guess in this context...
Richards/Ragh: Response
Nilsen: Right, duly noted. I got in touch with the other teams. Richards, do not be surprised if I...
Before he could finish the sentence, his PADD beeped again.
He took a moment to read it slowly, to understand what was said.Away teams from runabout Sower. Be advised that Butler has left orbit and we are point of contact for support and supply. Requesting status updates.
Nilsen: Alright, that changes things. The OEB has left orbit. The Sower is now our point of contact…gimme a sec.
He had typed fast at first, but the moment his fingers hit the keys, his mind had scrambled. As Lhandon typed, he had to backspace over a few words, writing and rewriting them again, as though his fingers did not know the correct spelling. “Avoid contact with boidly fluids…” had become “bodily” after three tries. Two lines later, “eupohria” had refused to stay spelt right; he had deleted it entirely, rewritten it, deleted it again, then finally got “euphoria” to sit where it belonged. He had focused on his message for a brief period while he wrote it.
The message he wanted to send, and indeed the message he sent, was clear, precise, and professional: the kind of calm update an XO was supposed to deliver. He exhaled through his nose, a quiet, frustrated sound that wasn’t quite a sigh, and finished the transmission. The words on the screen finally matched what he’d meant all along.
Sower, this is Nilsen. We are making headway in understanding the root causes of the Rage. Advise all teams to avoid contact with bodily fluids, as there is a risk of infection. The source is Ketracor, a drug for heart problems, combined with Ketracel-white. Symptoms are euphoria, then anger, aggression, and inhibited cognitive impulses. Please forward all reports to me, confirm crewmembers on Sower, scan for any mention of this on media channels, and stand by for away team reassignments.
Richards/Ragh: Response
He tapped send, then set the PADD down on the desk beside him instead of tucking it away.
Nilsen: I need to talk to them. Ragh, keep working on the theory.
Richards/Ragh: Response
And so, Nilsen was there, the most senior officer of the crew on the ground. The OEB was away, and he did not yet know where it had gone. He would get the context in time. The worries of the past and the grief he had suffered were still there. He wondered if they would ever go away, but soon that part faded, and he had to step up. Work had brought comfort. Work had been good. He could control things at work. He knew he needed the bigger picture. He needed to talk to the Sower team and find out what everyone else was doing.
[Maybe end scene for Nilsen]
((OOC: Consider this a tentative end scene for Nilsen. KW, Ryan, if you two need one more set of tags, please do just tag. And I’ll make Sunday the last sim of the act))
Lieutenant Commander Lhandon Joseph Nilsen
Executive Officer & Senior Diplomatic Officer
USS Octavia E Butler
O240007LN1
He/Him/His (Both player and character)