LTJG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen - The Eyes Of Suspicion
Lhandon Nilsen
((Independent Bay, Operations Centre Lower Floor, Deck 7, USS Octavia E Butler))
The crate had found its way into the independent bay and Lhandon had just delivered the reports from the Artemis and DS9. As the good second in command of ops that he was, the right-hand man of Toxin, he waited for Toxin’s judgement.
Arlill's comments gave some insight into the goods, “Not exactly prime equipment for the black market, most of those items aren’t even classified component designs.” Lhandon knew this too. Richards highlighted that it was a sophisticated operation for this stuff, which had Lhandon wondering why they were going to such efforts.
When he reported on the cube, and Madison’s progress, Toxin asked for scanner readings of the box. Lhandon nodded, working on his PADD to get that done as quickly as possible. Richards suggested it would be a clue, and Nilsen was inclined to agree.
Then with everything summed up, Lhandon asked the question that would spark Toxin’s judgement.
Nilsen: Yeah, I think this pretty much confirms that we've found a smuggling ring. We've got security here already but is this something you want to escalate, or will that tip off the smugglers? At the moment, only five people know about this; us three, Ral Shaw and Madison. Tox, with that in mind, what's your orders?
A moment of consideration was had, all three of them silent.
Arlill: I’ll handle the reporting, you three ::realizing he slipped:: you two, rather, work on getting into this crate, but be careful.
Lhandon's eyes scanned the room, seeking the third person Toxin referred to, but when he found no one, Nilsen dismissed it as a slip of the tongue.
Richards: Alright.
Nilsen: We can do that, I asked Madison for the scans while we were talking and we should get them shortly.
Arlill: You guys work for a moment, I’m going to send a message.
Toxin left the room and Lhandon nodded and then started to get to work
He had squatted down to look closer at the crate and tried to understand what was going on when Anton spoke.
Richards: You’ve known him for much longer than I have. Does he seem to be acting suspicious to you?
Lhandon paused, his hands almost freezing. He had wanted to continue his work, but this question had caught him off guard. He looked back to Richards.
Nilsen: What you mean?
Richards: Doesn’t he seem like he is preoccupied with something, plus exiting the room to make sure we don’t hear his message. Not to mention he seems to be a little upset that we are even looking into it.
A few days earlier, Toxin had snapped at Lhandon. Lhandon had set it aside, dismissing it as merely a moment, but Richards appeared to harbor suspicions. Madison had describe this concept to Lhandon before; one shouldn't dismiss anything and should pursue all leads regardless of how logical they may seem. It seemed that Richards was doing exactly that, and Nilsen didn't appreciate it. The gaze of suspicion was uncomfortable when it landed on his department. Sherlock was just one step away.
Nilsen: I mean, he just got promoted, he’s stressed, we’ve got so much to do with project FORT and keeping this brand new OC going. I…
He sighed and stood up. He could feel his loyalty had been tested. He had towered over Richards, and looked down upon him, not in malice, but rather making sure his point was clear as he had gotten closer and taken up defense.
Nilsen: Look, Toxin…Arlill, he would never do anything like this, he is like my big brother and I swear on my life a thousand times over he could never. I cannot find you a person more loyal to this ship and this crew than Tox.
But it had planted an idea in Lhandon's head, a horrible idea, one he had wanted to dismiss as soon as possible but duty had not allowed him to do so. Had this been an inside job?
Nilsen: But even in the wildest possibility that he did do something like this, I would be the first to know. And he has not told me a thing.
And when Toxin had suddenly become defensive the other day, and now arrived just in time to take over the investigation when he should have been resting, was it all connected to this? And what if it had been an inside job?
He dismissed that thought too. Even if there was the tiniest bit of connection, Toxin would have had his reasons for doing so, and they would have been good, pure reasons in the finest values and traditions of Starfleet.
But what of his duty to Starfleet and his loyalty to Toxin? He hoped, with all his heart, that he wouldn't be put into that position.
At some point during Lhandon's defence of Toxin, the aforementioned chief had returned to the room. Lhandon wasn't sure when. Richard's shift of topic had been borderline hilarious; he seemed to act as if a teacher had walked in while he was caught chewing gum in class.
Richards: Oh! And Rubix cube! Heh. That’s another type of cube.
Nilsen: What you on about? What’s a Rubix cube got to do with this?
Toxin: Response?
Richards: So what's the word?
Lhandon couldn't bring the words to mind but he had loomed over Anton somewhat. A silent threat perhaps, a word that the security officer was barking up the wrong tree.
Toxin: Responses
Nilsen: I was just telling Richards here how we run the tightest ops department in the fleet
His silent threat was given words.
Richards: I’m just trying to get to the bottom of this smugglers cube, I mean ring.
Nilsen: Cube?
A new idea came to mind.
Nilsen: That’s it! We’ve been trying to brute force this thing but what if…
Lhandon sat on the floor next to the crate and placed his hand on one side. He then put his ear right up to it and smiled.
Nilsen: It’s a cubic lock. I had one years ago in the academy, when I got kicked out of Echo Squad, I needed some place to store my stuff while I moved out of the campus. They were so easy to break into and I couldn’t afford the credits, All you need to do is line up the layers. Both of you be quiet now, I need to listen
Richards/Toxin: Responses
As Lhandon had pressed his ear closer to the cube, he had shut out the rest of the world. The faintest sound of the internal mechanisms shifting within was all he needed. Each tiny click and scrape of metal had been one step closer to opening it. He had tried to visualize the labyrinth of gears, pins, and tumblers hidden beneath the surface.
Carefully, he had begun to manipulate the cube, using his memory of his old lock to guide his movements. As a Vulcan would describe, the human instinct on display was illogical. He could feel each vibration and bit of feedback pulse through his finger. He soon found the rhythm to it all, one click, and then another, and then one more.
Nilsen: Got ya.
He had spoken quietly, and his past had assisted him here. He finished with a sudden slam of his fists on top of the crate, and a small hiss was heard as the lid popped open.
Nilsen: Am I good or what?
Richards/Toxin: Responses
Lhandon had taken the lid off and put it to one side. He had passed his PADD over to Richards and started to remove layers. If there were protests to scan first, he had ignored them.
Nilsen: Richards, what does that manifest say this should be?
Richards/Toxin: Responses
He recognized it right away. It wasn't the first time that he had handled something like this; one of these had helped to start his friendship with Herrick on the Oumuamua. Speaking, almost like a quiz show host, he revealed the contents.
Nilsen: Well that’s wrong because our star prize is Replicator units. Entire Replicator units
Tags/TBC
Lieutenant JG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen
HCO & Acting Asst. Chief
USS Octavia E Butler
O240007LN1
He/Him/His (Both player and character)