Lt JG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen - Never Skip Leg Day
Lhandon Nilsen
(( Gym, Deck 7, USS 'Oumuamua ))
Lhandon was working out on the leg press, pushing against the large plate with his feet. Over the past month, he had slowly been feeling strength return to his legs and had been gently upping the resistance offered by this machine. They had been weakened by the events of the Alpha Brenkelvi II mission and while he hated leg day just like the next person but .
He liked the quiet at that hour, no one used the gym at 01:15. With the current status of the ship and most moving to DS9 in anticipation of transfers, Nilsen basically had the run of the deck.
He didn't think about work, just pushed. The movement was repetitive, three sets of five, not as many as he would have liked but he was recovering and this was progress, he kept moving forward.
His PADD was on the floor, to the side and just a tad under the leg push machine; he had been using it to keep track of his workout.
Lhandon was halfway through his third set of reps when Commodore V’Airu and Commander Rouiancet showed up. He was confused as to why they had shown up. Did the two suddenly want to take up the gym? Was he about to become a personal trainer? Was he in trouble?
He was probably in trouble.
Rouiancet: Don't worry, we're here for a good reason.
He was not in trouble.
Lhandon had heard rumours that V’Airu and Rouiancet going about the ship with their shenanigans - see it’s not just ensigns that get up to something.
o0 Etan: I wanted to give you a chance to own up to what you did- and you failed on that count. ::beat:: Spectacularly. 0o
Lhandon had confided in both officers previously, but he had never seen them in the same room together. For V’Airu, it was to process what had happened on Alpha Brenkelvi II and what to do with those memories. For Rouiancet, it was a matter of what to do about the curious case of The Hypothetical Case Of Metan Miljor and why Nilsen was still there. Both had a level of trust that he couldn't describe.
Both were showing pure glee; they were up to something.
Lhandon didn’t know whether he should sit or stand. He had been dripping in sweat, so he quickly grabbed the towel nearby and wiped the sweat off his brow and arms to make himself mildly presentable.
Almost no one had seen him there. So, they hadn't seen that he tended to wear a simple look when he worked out. He had worn a shirt and jogger bottoms in some kind of block colour. That day he had chosen navy blue. The work he had put into his body to stay as healthy as he could was on show here, and only here.
Sure, Nilsen might have had an ego sometimes, like any HCO, but not there, not at the gym. He had kept this bit under wraps.
If he had been so inclined, he could have easily shown off the muscle tone and definition. Even the tattoo that he had on his right arm, on his upper bicep, was mostly covered by the sleeve of the shirt. There was only a hint of what was there, and there were at least a few colours that could be seen.
The one constant in his life, through his time at home, the petty crime, the academy, Echo Squad, Oumuamua
All the running away,
All the chaos,
The gym had been the one constant.
Nilsen: Ro, erm…Commodore, Commander What can I do for you sirs?
Lhandon had been clearly and plainly caught off guard. He had accidentally used his nickname for Rouiancet, a shortened version of her surname. He figured she didn't really mind, or at the very least hadn't told him off for it. Regardless, he quickly corrected himself.
Nilsen: Apologies for my appearance, I wasn’t expecting anyone to join me today
V'Airu: Just so. Perhaps you will start, Commander?
Rouiancet: With pleasure.
o0 Start what?0o
Rouiancet revealed a small ornamental box and gestured for Nilsen to come closer. Normal protocol allowed for pomp and circumstance, but given what was about to happen, Nilsen certainly preferred it this way.
Rouiancet: I'm just going to give this to you, Lieutenant, if you don't mind. No need to pin it to your workout outfit. (beat; small smile) Oops, did I say "Lieutenant"? Well, the secret's out now. Congratulations, Lhandon.
o0 I’m a whaaaat? 0o
Nilsen: Thank…thank you sirs. I, are you? are you sure?
o0 They’ve made a mistake 0o
V'Airu: (steely) We both have high expectations and a great deal of faith in you, Nilsen.
o0 Etan: If you ever do anything like this again- or even put out a toe out of line, I will have you stripped of your commission and on the first prison shuttle back to the Alpha Quadrant 0o
They had obviously spoken to each other, or at least that's what Lhandon had assumed, but he hadn't minded. He had trusted them both. V'Airu had provided him a safe haven when his consciousness had been removed from his body, while Rouiancet had brought him home.
That had meant something, and so, he had breathed in, air filling his lungs. Hearing that from V'Airu and Rouiancet, it had given him a new sense of...something, he hadn't known what.
o0 They have faith in me, don’t let them down Lhandon, don’t tell them about your resignation letter, or your new contract…don’t don’t don’t tell them 0o
Nilsen: I erm…I don’t know what to say.
Then V’airu had removed a number of ribbons from her box, three of them. One was red-silver-black with a gold stripe, another was orange with violet stripes, and the last one was red with two silver stripes.
Lhandon blinked.
V'Airu: Nilsen, you not only acted as a crucial conduit for diplomatic efforts at Alpha Brenkelvi, you made yourself into a physical -- and mental -- conduit for those efforts to go forward, and eventually come to a fruition that delivered justice to a people long forgotten. You more than earned the Joint Meritorious Unit and Diplomacy Ribbons. However, you also performed the admirable and unusual task of doing so successfully and, to my great relief, living to tell the tale, and for your convictions, your perseverance, and your downright bullheadedness, I also wish to recognize you with the Legion of Merit. Congratulations, and (with a glance at Rouiancet) I wish your new CO good luck.
Rouiancet: (a smile at Nilsen) Oh, I'm sure we'll do just fine.
Lhandon had smiled at the use of 'bullheadedness'; that was him, and he knew it. For a moment, his mind had forgotten the panic into which he had spiralled and was in the moment. That entire mission, his actions had defined 'bullheadedness.' When he was bullheaded, he wasn't anxious.
He had been lost for words, with a thousand feelings and thoughts floating around his head in a cacophony of noise. He was no longer in the moment. He held the ribbons and the pin in the palm of his hands and looked down at them, all laid out. They had been his for the taking.
Nilsen: It wasn’t just me sir…wait! did you say new CO? We? me and you Ro?
o0 Etan: you’ve tried to weasel out of trouble by blaming others! 0o
Rouiancet/V'Airu: Response
Nilsen: Are you sure?
Lhandon had smiled for a moment, but then his face dropped as he retreated into his own mind. The voice of Etan in his head had begun getting louder and louder.
o0 Etan: You are going to be the model Starfleet officer. “Yes, sir!”, “Right away, sir!”, “Of course, sir!” - all of that and more. :: beat. :: The minute someone asks you to do something- you do it, with no complaint 0o
He wasn't meant to be there. He wasn't the model Starfleet officer, he would never become the model Starfleet officer.
o0 Etan: And if I tell you to jump, Ensign- the only question I want to hear pass those lips is “how high? 0o
This isn’t how it’s meant to go
o0 You’re going to frack this up Lhando 0o
He wants to run.
Run far
First shuttle out of here.
The two commanding officers in front of him had said something, but he hadn't heard it. He looked at the hollow pip and the medals, almost blankly.
Rouiancet/V'Airu: Response
The pip and the medals. They are his for the taking.
He had no jokes, no humour, just the torment of his own brain.
Run away o0 no 0o Run away Lhando o0 No! 0o Run boy run o0 NO! 0o
A single tear came out of his right eye and rolled down his cheek.
o0 You’re a middle child, they expect you to frack this up. 0o
Nilsen: I…if…I…I don’t deserve this. These are no…not mine.
Rouiancet/V'Airu: Response
Nilsen: I’ve…o0 please stop me 0o…written my resignation letter o0 I wanna run 0o It’s on this PADD. ::Beat:: I am going to submit it after I finished up everything on the Oumuamua.
o0 Don’t let me go, not this time 0o o0 I’m going to frack it up 0o
He nodded to a PADD on the floor, near the machine he was using
He wasn't crying, but his breath was short. His nervous system had kicked in, and his unconsciousness had been on the verge of bursting into flight mode.
o0 Ro, V’Airu, please stop me! I’m going to regret this!!! 0o
Rouiancet/V'Airu: Response
o0 I wanna go home 0o
Tags/TBC
Ensign Lieutenant JG Lhandon Joseph Nilsen
HCO who always fracks it up
USS Octavia E. Butler - unless he runs away
O240007LN1
He/Him/His (Both player and character)