LTJG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen - Clouds
Lhandon Nilsen
(( Lower Astrometrics Lab, Deck 11, Octavia E Butler))
The plan had been made, and Lhandon had shown how operations fit into running the ship, and how operations were able to assist the other departments with their needs.
Nilsen: I’m printing the shuttles too. No point using our good ones for a gambit like this
Katsim: How long until they are done and prepared?
Promontory: Too long to print full shuttles. Mr. Nilsen we can go ahead and use our ‘good’ ones—just ensure that they have Commander Katsim’s shiny new sensors onboard. (beat, smiling) You can conscript some of the Marine’s Valkyries if needed as well.
Much to Lhandon's annoyance, Promontory was right. He sighed internally, Nilsen personally not wanting to risk their current ships. Fleet Formation was a new concept, and a few old hands in the fleet had voiced their objections. However, he couldn't understand their discontent. To him, this system was tremendous. If necessary, he could have used it to control a large number of ships. One HCO could have commanded a fleet if needed. A group of HCOs working together as a cooperative, a collective, was an amazing and brilliant concept, Nilsen had thought.
Nilsen:: Yes sir.
He clearly respected Promontory, so if Promo had said no, then it would have been no. Lhandon really wanted to create an entirely new fleet of his own printed ships, but controlling the good ships would have sufficed. Promontory hadn’t shut him down or shouted him into oblivion; he had spoken with respect to Nilsen, and Nilsen had hoped that he had shown that respect in return.
Nilsen: I’ll take the Valkyries only as a back up, the “good” shuttles should do, along with the probes.
Katsim: We should review the data, make sure we’re not missing anything.
Yinn: My earlier analysis had been focusing on the planetary nebula, and the planets in the system. I'll re-examine the perimeter cloud for anything of note.
Nilsen: The probes will give you a live feed as we go. I’m guessing you can set the lab up to analyse the data for you? Something like keywords?
Promontory: Remember, while collecting new scientific data is all well and good, we need to prioritize the safe entry into the system and, if possible, the specific coordinates of the Unity Dow.
This hadn't been the first time he'd journeyed through a 'spooky cloud' as he liked to call them. He had known there were dangers; with the lack of main sensors, he had relied entirely on the patched shuttles and the fleet formation mode. Essentially, they were just an early warning system that would give him a few seconds at most to respond. The thought of this had been nerve-wracking but exhilarating at the same time. It had come down to skill and ability, in conjunction with his new toys, and he loved it.
Katsim: Reviewing the data, I have pinpointed an area where I think we should enter - it has the fewest number of sensor echoes.
Katsim pointed to a spot on the Oort cloud, a thinner area of gases, rocks, and debris that had still been a veil on the OVIV system. This had been the spot where they had drawn back the curtains and climbed through the window of the closed-off system.
Yinn: Fewer sensor echoes could mean a less dense area of the cloud, but it could also mean more interference. We should be prepared to adjust our course as we get closer and learn more.
Sensor echoes? Lhandon had thought back to his first mission on the Oumumuma, when he had seen some sensor echoes as he had flown the aforementioned ship into the Esh-O micro-nebula. He had dismissed the idea of the two events being connected.
He was a different man now, and there was no room for doubts, that was left in 2400. He’d resolved himself to have no “coulda, shoulda, woulda” after this mission. Lhandon had his head in the game and he was sure of what to do. He would do this mission, and the rest of his life, with no regrets
Promontory: (nodding) I think this team should head to the bridge on approach. As soon as we get our initial images back and have a safe course plotted.
Nilsen: Once we’re up there, I can manage everything from the helm.
Katsim: Response
Qurgh'Loq had soon entered, and it was good to see him on his feet after the transporter accident, Lhandon had thought. Yinn and Loq had become as one, in a manner of speaking. Lhandon had gotten to know Loq a bit prior to the accident, as he was learning more about Diplomacy and the roles one could take, he recalled having a pleasant conversation with Loq.
Yinn (Klingon): Let me know when the probes are ready. I'll have the computer ready to interpret the data.
Lhandon wasn’t fully sure who to address, so he resolved to split the difference and speak to both.
Nilsen: Sweet, I’ll need you to tell me if anything you see could affect how I fly. I’m going to be focusing on keeping all the ships flying, so ::looking at Yinn:: anything that could give us turbulence, ::Looking at Loq:: Or anything that would affect our systems, like gasses or the short. ::To Promontory:: Should I get the feed set up on the bridge?
Promontory: For now, let’s route everything through here.
Lhandon nodded.
Katsim: Lieutenant, how long until the unmanned shuttles are ready?
Nilsen: Flight Ops says they’re being loaded onto the launch pads as we we speak. Drones are ready to launch. As soon as we arrive, we’ll be ready to go.
Yinn: Response
Promontory: If we think we’re ready, I’ll confirm with the other teams and notify the bridge to expect us.
Katsim: We should receive the initial images and information presently.
Yinn: response
Avander nodded once more, as did Lhandon who had nothing else to add.
Promontory: With all due haste then!
Katsim/Yinn: Response
((Bridge, Deck 1, USS Octavia E Butler))
They had arrived on the bridge in good time and Katsim had given the tentative thumbs up. The bridge had quickly become familiar to Lhandon, he had liked this new direction of Starfleet design, the lights had been turned down just a little and the consoles had been sleek, practical and left no doubt about what they did. The carpets had been a nice touch though.
Nilsen took over the helm from the ensign that was at the station, she returned to standby and saw to other duties. As soon as he sat at the helm on the right-hand side, with tactical to his left. Yinn was behind him, taking the science console and Katsim taking the mission specialist console
The large viewscreen displayed the obstacle they had to face: the Oort cloud that enshrouded the system, almost as if it was protecting whatever was inside. All they had known was that it was a binary star system; the cloud had not easily given up its secrets. Its folding clouds that lapped around each other and icy edge, which gave a silver tint, had almost dared Starfleet to poke their noses in.
Katsim: Thus far, nothing unusual is coming through the cloud. We can proceed with caution.
Nilsen: Aye sir, Fleet formation mode active, all craft online and responding.
He had found the holographic foot pedal as it wrapped around his right foot like a boot. The OEB recognized who was at the helm and loaded his preferences. Lhandon’s preferences were a foot pedal to control forward thrust and buttons on the console for lateral, ventral, port, and starboard thrust controls. The display on his console also provided a holographic readout of the relative position of the OEB compared to the probes and unknown shuttles. He moved that readout to the bottom of the holographic display, so it was just above the top lip of his console. He had taken a breath. This had been it.
The ship moved forward smoothly, with the necessary caution of "we're entering this spooky cloud, let's not go at warp 9." He pressed the holographic pedal and it responded to him. Up here, on the bridge, the computer didn't have an issue with him. As he applied pressure on the holographic pedal, they moved forward. He set the limiter to one-quarter impulse, a speed he had stated would provide them enough time to react.
Promontory/Yinn: Response
Katsim: The first probe has broken through the innermost edge of the cloud.
As they had gotten closer and entered the cloud, the light and colours from the cloud had flooded the bridge, coating it in a silvery cerulean hue before being replaced by hues of greens and purples as the various clouds intermingled and lapped over each other.
Katsim: Estimated time til we are clear, fifteen minutes.
Nilsen: All probes and shuttles are responding well. Yinn, everything good your end?
Promontory/Yinn: Response
The shuttles and the probes had all been under Nilsen's command. He had set the system to mirror his maneuvers but also allowed the individual AI on each ship to make a corrective move if needed.
He then saw something on view screen and followed his instinct.
Nilsen: What do you make of that dense bit cloud sir? I’m going to avoid it, course 310 mark 40.
To go around on the left and up a bit.
Katsim/Yinn/Promontory: Response
This was one part of the cloud that he didn't want to fly into; not because he lacked courage, but because he was slightly less foolish than he had been as an ensign, and something just told him to avoid it.
Nilsen: The shuttles skimming the edge should get a good read of that cloud.
Katsim/Yinn/Promontory: Response
Tags/TBC
((OOC: Just two tags today to get us all to the bridge and avoid this sim getting too long in the tooth.)
Lieutenant JG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen
Assistant Chief of Operations.
USS Octavia E Butler
O240007LN1
He/Him/His (Both player and character)