Lhandon Nilsen: Difference between revisions

Nilsen was on track to becoming a model Starfleet officer however his time on the Oumuamua has not been without incident. Old issues, a chip on his shoulder and past failures all affected his present day relationships as well as reckless behaviour at the Denali Invitational. According to Commander Etan "It was clear that Nilsen was a gifted and promising officer, but he kept getting in his own way." <ref>Commander Etan Iljor - Into The Unknown - https://groups.google.com/g/sb118-oumuamua/c/IvJJe4lUeho/m/iAv51K6tAQAJ</ref>

==== '''Mission: The Esh-o Micronebula''' ====

Nilsen's first mission aboard the Oumuama was described by Commodore V'Airu as "complex." While in the lower decks, Nilsen felt the full force of the nebula's effect and during this time wrote his resignation letter<ref name=":0" />. During this mission, on Stardate 240008.03, Nilsen was called up to the bridge. With Commodore V'Airu, he joined LT Jack Kessler and LT Sasha Johnson in retrofitting the mission pod from a tactical to a scanning functionality. During this refit, Nilsen expressed his worries and concerns over the effect his crash had on his ability to do his job. Commodore Ossa V'Airu was heard saying, "That officer didn't make up my mind for me. I believe you deserve a chance," in response to Lhandon's worries about this sudden posting.<blockquote>'''Nilsen''': You’ve read my file? You saw that crash report? They said…the commander, my old instructor said I should never fly, he said that he’d tell every captain, every XO, every commander that I will ever have.  

Nilsen took the helm, guided the Oumuamua through the micronebula, and took evasive action after becoming suspicious of a handful of sensor readouts. Nilsen interpreted these as potentially hostile contacts and took it upon himself to execute evasive maneuvers<ref>https://groups.google.com/g/sb118-oumuamua/c/CcBAO-uFNVw/m/x3FljMvUBAAJ</ref><ref>https://groups.google.com/g/sb118-oumuamua/c/QvsFq0_vRJI/m/fY9Rh-uWBAAJ</ref>. Nilsen was involved with contact with the USS Nautilus and facilitated communication with that ship. When the order was given to evacuate the USS Nautilus, Nilsen was able to free up resources to increase the efficiency of the operation. Sometime after this mission, he admitted he wrote the resignation letter to Commander Etan Iljor,<ref name=":0">Looking for Ihsehelm., [https://groups.google.com/g/sb118-oumuamua/c/6_anTawIw2A/m/lDiyI2NfAQAJ Part 1]., [https://groups.google.com/g/sb118-oumuamua/c/eaxNh_7jT4I/m/hLbYQHBfAQAJ Part 2]</ref> but he had yet to submit it. Nilsen was awarded the Legion of Merit for his actions during this mission.

Lhandon's first shore leave was spent getting to know his ship and his crew. He was also introduced to an organization known as JOPA, which would become very near and dear to his heart. His shore leave began by taking care of Toxin Arlill, who had returned from a traumatic away mission. He helped to keep his "bro-roomy" company as he recovered. Soon after, Nilsen had to go to sickbay himself for a standard medical checkup, and it was there that he met V'Len Kel, who he learned was a pilot like himself. Nilsen opened up somewhat about the events of the Echo Squad crash.

After this, Nilsen was summoned by the First Officer, Commander Etan Ijor, who spoke to him about the events of the mission and learned a little more about Lhandon's context. Lhandon recounted his actions during the mission: retrofitting the Oumuamua into a giant sensor, piloting through the nebula, and responding to the distress call from the Nautilus. His recount was devoid of self-praise or positive self-talk. Etan shared a personal story from his own early days in Starfleet, telling of a harrowing mission that almost cost him his life. This helped Lhandon see the parallels between their experiences. Lhandon soon opened up about his worries and revealed that he had written a resignation letter, but Etan's support led him to delete the letter and stay aboard the Oumuamua. He would later comment that this was the first time since joining Starfleet that he felt he might have a place.

This shore leave also saw Lhandon saying goodbye to some new friends as they were transferred to the USS Ronin. Lhandon also met Josh Herrick for the first time, as he came to help Nilsen install the new operations center. The two quickly struck up a friendship, and Herrick was sure that he recognized him from somewhere, but did not ask. Rather, he investigated privately. Nilsen found that he really enjoyed Herrick's company and his friendship, finding him easy to talk to. Quickly, Lhandon started to develop feelings for Herrick and was curious to see what happened next. Unfortunately, Herrick's investigating and questioning about Nilsen's time at the academy and Echo Squad started to hit a nerve. Lhandon snapped at Herrick, thinking that he was looking to get dirt on him. Lhandon soon regretted this and, with Toxin's help, smoothed things over and apologized. As a result, Lhandon pushed his feelings for Herrick aside, realizing that his snap had hurt him.

However, the challenges for Arlill and Nilsen don't end there. Their shuttle experiences a critical malfunction in the warp drive, bringing their journey to a sudden halt. Despite not being engineers, they attempt to fix the malfunction themselves, determined to resolve the situation without external help. The return to the USS Oumuamua under their own power and infrom Commodore V'airu of their findings. <ref>JP Adventure Awaits - https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/sb118-oumuamua/search?q=Adventure%20Awaits</ref>

==== '''Denali Invitational 2400''' ====