Lt. Cmdr. Lhandon Nilsen - Welcome To The Team!
Lhandon Nilsen
(( Holodeck 4, Deck 7, USS Octavia E. Butler ))
An understanding had been reached; the Continuance had worked it out. Working against them would not work. Starfleet would resist any and all efforts to be subjugated.
Lhandon and his ad hoc diplomacy team had been successful in leading the Continuance to a new option. They were home.
But just as they thought it was over, just as victory was within their grasp, defeat came along to pull it from the jaws of success. A new voice appeared, one of someone called Stella. Lhandon was not fully sure who Stella was; the OEB itself had many secrets, just like the work of their namesake. Stella announced that the self-destruct of the Dyson sphere had been set off.
Nilsen: =/\= Continuance, let’s work together. Is there anything we can do from up here? =/\=
Arlill: ::tapping his comms badge:: =/\= Arlill to engineering, is there anything you can do to bolster the signal? =/\=
Continuance: =/\= Clarification: STATION self-destruct sequence is a terminal fail-safe embedded at Sphere core-depth to prevent Kevaran Continuance-class intelligences from acquiring write access to foundational code and propagating across Kevaran infrastructure. Trigger condition: unauthorized artificial intelligence interaction with deeper functions. Status: Triggered. Initiator signature: Stella. =/\=
There was something in the tone that was not blame, far from it, as if the Continuance was quickly understanding who these strange organic beings were.
Continuance: =/\= Clarification: Captain Rouiancet’s team has physically removed the STATION computer core. With the core removed, no command channel exists to issue override or abort. The device that can hear “stop” is no longer present. =/\=
Greaves: =/\= I’ll take that as a no then. We need to get the ship out of the system before this thing blows. Who knows how big of an explosion this thing will trigger or what will happen to the system’s star =/\=
Greaves was right. Tox was in command, Lhandon was second, and their first duty was perhaps to the ship. Away teams in situations were often expected to help themselves until help could return, but this was not a normal situation, where the teams could just shelter and wait. The Continuance added to the discussion and showed a projection of the bands that would ripple out from the sphere should it be destroyed.
More stats were displayed.
Lock probability: 43%
Matter stream destabilization risk: 61%
Rematerialization error margin: unacceptable.
Lhandon leaned against the console before him, his arms hurting, the muscle fatigue setting in.
Woolheater/Away Team: =/\= Response (optional) =/\=
Greaves: =/\= With the transporter interference here we’ll need to move. We’ll try and find a beam-out point. Greaves out. =/\=
With that, the comms closed and Arlill was first to act.
Arlill: Is there anything we can do to help you get the control you need to resolve this, Continuance?.
Continuance: Assertion: No successful outcome exists within current authority constraints. Novel intervention required.. Directive: Conduct immediate simultaneous analysis by Starfleet personnel to identify novel approach to success.
Arlill: We can do that! =/\= Computer, run program Ops-1001. =/\=
1001 had many uses. It was part of the emergency protocols of the ship. Should an area be compromised, the holodeck could be used to become that area of the ship.
He was, in many ways, home again. The consoles that were around morphed into the large console in the pit, the spot where Nilsen used to spend all of his time. Above him, the mezzanine level formed too. Toxin's old office, now Percy's, loomed over the OC.
See, that was the thing about ops officers, both current and former. They were a canny lot. There was always a trick or two up their sleeves.
Never leave an ops officer unattended.
Arlill: ::To Lhandon:: We can access communications and all exterior connections from here. It's directly tied to the operations control center. It was designed as an emergency program, should ops be damaged beyond use.
Lhandon nodded and took his old position at the pit. For the smallest moment, the pain in his arms from the fatigue of being awake faded away as he felt a second wind come over him.
Continuance: Notification: USS Octavia E. Butler command-and-control pathways restored to Starfleet personnel for crisis response. Clarification: I will not issue orders. I will provide options, data, and access where possible. Emergency safeguards remain available.
The Continuance had not just gained an understanding recently but had started to put that into practice. At the same time, Lhandon extended a welcome.
Nilsen: We appreciate that, Continuance. Welcome to the team. Woolheater, I want you to get on the terminal behind you; that's transporter support. Two people working on a transporter pattern can help stabilize it.
Woolheater: Response
Arlill: I imagine it would be possible, but we’d need to know the exact frequencies. ::beat:: are you comfortable sharing those Continuance?
Continuance: Confirmation: Affirmative. Action: Sphere frequency sets, hopping schedules, and phase correction tables have been transmitted to Ops-1001 consoles. Warning: STATION core absence remains the primary barrier. Frequencies will improve communication and transport windows only if local field geometry can be stabilized.
The timer continued in the corner of Ops-1001 for all to see
03:48…03:47…
Nilsen: Arlill, if you lock onto those frequency sets the Continuance just sent, you can route them through the pattern buffer. Woolheater, help him out with that.
Woolheater: Response
There were options before them. Yet as each option would be in vain, the Continuance presented one more option.
Continuance: Assessment: I do not possess a direct override vector. Working together, we may create one. Projection: Stop self-destruct probability under current conditions: 0%. Evacuation probability under current conditions: 34%. Projection: If the STATION core is reinstalled and simultaneous problem response is conducted, probability of stopping self-destruct rises from 0% to 12%. If core is reinstalled, this program transfers to Sphere substrate to attempt delay, and Starfleet evacuates, evacuation probability increases to 68%. Cost: 98% probability of termination of this program.
A chill hit Lhandon's bones, a shiver through his muscles. Every fiber of his being just said quietly:
Nilsen: No, there’s got to be another way.
Arlill/Woolheater: Response
Continuance: Clarification: Long term loss-prevention projections are marginally more favorable by preserving USS Octavia E. Butler and crew than by self-preservation of this program. Assertion: Overriding directive –- prevent loss. Self-preservation is not a primary directive.
He spoke and replied with a pang of sadness
Nilsen: Continuance, what are you saying? We can find a way. I know we can.
Arlill/ Woolheater: Response
Continuance: Directive pending: Select response pathway. I will comply with and support the selected pathway. If you choose reinstall and transfer, I will initiate handoff procedures immediately. Clarification: Delay is a choice. Refusal to decide is still a decision.
It felt like the cruellest joke the universe could play on him. His breath left him in one slow exhale, like a surrender. He pressed his lips together hard, as if sealing away everything he couldn't say. The Continuance was right, refusal to decide was still a decision, and he and his team did not have the luxury of refusing to decide.
Stella: =/\=Kevara Continuance, I am Stella, also known as the USS Octavia E. Butler. Request assistance in shutting down the self destruct sequence. A request to return the core has already been submitted. =/\=
Lhandon looked over to Toxin and nodded. He made his choice and just needed Tox to back him. As the Continuance might say, the two had a reduced "latency". Ro was best served by the two, almost like Binars; the two often knew by instinct what the other was thinking, or what they needed. They were meant to be miracle workers, a small sadness fell into his eyes, the whole point of the broroomies was to pull off small miracles on a daily basis, and a big miracle at least once a week. He blinked, and the sting that followed made him furious with his own biology. He stared at the numbers again as if staring could change them. He came up with one more idea that might just let him and Arlill still be the miracle workers they were meant to be.
Nilsen: Okay, Continuance, before you go, dump your logs here, maybe we can return them to you afterwards.
Continuance/Arlill/Woolheater: Response
Nilsen: Good luck. =/\= Bridge, this is Nilsen. Set a course out of the nebula, maximum possible speed. We'll hit the warp command from here. =/\= Woolheater, keep working on the buffers. I'll hold us until the last moment.
The bridge acknowledged the order and stood ready. Lhandon set up a button on the console; one of the purposes of the OC was to act as a backup bridge, as Sherlock may have called it somewhat in jest, the playset bridge. Like engineering, command functions could be had from there.
Continuance/Arlill/Woolheater: Response
Tags/TBC
((OOC: No point putting bridge responses, as we can assume they'll do what they're told. I also removed the engineering tag to keep the scene tidy. Also, only two tags to give my scenes a chance to catch up and some more room to play. What have I started with my comms tags, lol.))
Lieutenant Commander Lhandon Joseph Nilsen
Second Officer & Senior Diplomatic Officer
USS Octavia E Butler
O240007LN1
He/Him/His (Both player and character)