Lt. Cmdr. Lhandon Nilsen - Welcoming a New Ensign Aboard
Lhandon Nilsen
((OOC: Welcome aboard. We normally meet new ensigns in the transporter room, but I think it might be more fun to drop you right in engineering.))
(Main Engineering Lower Level, Deck 11, USS Octavia E Butler))
At six feet four, he had been one of the tallest members of the crew. Next to Captain Lia Rouiancet, the commanding officer with whom he had entered main engineering, and Kimonzi Lahl, the Chief of Engineering, whom he had seen just ahead of him, he could have been mistaken for their bodyguard rather than the ship’s First Officer.
His build had done nothing to dissuade that notion. His favourite sport, rugby, had been well served by his wide shoulders and powerful arms, and yet the First Officer had worn purple, the duty colour of the Federation Diplomatic Corps. Lieutenant Commander Lhandon Joseph Nilsen had been a man of juxtaposition.
Nilsen: I’m surprised you’ve hidden the mallet away, Lahl. Is this a new management style for you? Don’t tell me Alex has softened you.
He said with a laugh, once again tormenting the chief engineering officer who was with the newest ensign. Before Lahl could clap back, and with the image of annoying Kimonzi still bringing Lhandon a sense of mischievous joy, he quickly addressed the newest member of the crew, Ensign Boran Jaz.
Nilsen: Hello there, Ensign. I’m Lieutenant Commander Lhandon Nilsen. This is our commanding officer, Captain Lia Rouiancet. Welcome aboard.
Lhandon spoke with an accent that, to the untrained ear, sounded as though it had come from somewhere in Eastern Europe, but it had been tempered and softened by Federation Standard and four years at the Academy. It was still deep and soft, and it was still curt on some words. He offered his hand to the new ensign, an old human custom that many humans still kept to.
He was from a planet called Gault, near the Klingon border. The people of that planet traced their lineage back to a human group in the late 21st century that had wanted to return to an agrarian way of life in the wake of World War III. They had been called the Siberian Collective because they had originated in or near Siberia.
Rouiancet/Lahl/Boran: Response
Nilsen: I’m sorry we weren’t able to meet you in the transporter room when you arrived, but I’m glad to see you’ve settled in. How are you finding engineering so far?
He had found them in lower engineering, spread across two decks. The dual warp cores had stood dominant in the room, facing each other, demanding all of the attention, but never once seeming to look at him. In the middle was a console used to manage the department, and he could see the power distribution notes snaking off into the bowels of the Sagan-class ship.
Rouiancet/Lahl/Boran: Response
Lhandon then tried to highlight what he wanted the OEB to be, a good place where the officers were not afraid of their command staff.
Nilsen: We’re far from DS14 and the wormhole, so we try to make this a good place to be. What’s your specialisation?
Rouiancet/Lahl/Boran: Response
Lhandon enjoyed this. Meeting a new ensign was an exciting time for the ship, and it filled him with joy. Yet, as he listened to those around him and tried to draw as much happiness as he could from the moments he lived, he knew what he had been missing, and who. Toxin Arlill, first and foremost. His best friend had disappeared in the night, leaving a note, but with the indignity of hiding his path. Most of his old friend group had transferred to the Thor, including Sevantha, Mo, and Josh. Eli had transferred with them too, but the man Lhandon loved was no longer on this mortal coil.
It was just him. A circle of one.
Tags/TBC
Lieutenant Commander Lhandon Joseph Nilsen
Executive Officer & Senior Diplomatic Officer
USS Octavia E Butler
O240007LN1
He/Him/His (Both player and character)