Laura Lansing

Laura Lansing was born on the Archipelago and was enrolled in school where she excelled at computers and graduated early. She joined the Pelagos (Archipelago Military) at the age of sixteen and advanced quickly through the system up to the rank of Admiral. She was hard nosed and strict with those below her. She upset one of her superiors by embarrassing his son in front of several high ranking officials. She was stripped of all her duties and she fell into a deep depression. Work was her life. Two weeks later, Captain Smoke arrived at the Archipelago and offered her the weapons and defense position aboard the Clipper. His weapons and defense officer had been killed in combat. With no other options she accepted and positioned to be released from her contract with the Pelagos.

Lieutenant Lansing is 5′7″ with hazel eyes and sandy colored long hair that she usually keeps up in a neat bun. Her face is thin and she is in excellent physical condition. She is 40 years old.

Author’s Note:

The decision to create Lieutenant Lansing and the other bridge members of the Hidden Sun was important because it solidified the number of people and the positions needed to fly the Hidden Sun. I had seen countless Sci-Fi shows and some starships had a two member crew, while others had over ten people on the bridge! This seemed like an awful lot of people to coordinate. It made sense to me that you only needed four people plus the ship’s computer, who would handle everything else. One person would fly the ship, another handle the navigation and communication duties, one to handle weapons and defense, and of course, one captain.

While we don’t see much of the original bridge crew other than Captain Smoke, their unnamed presence in the introduction of Brandon Sparks and the Hidden Sun, along with their defeat at the hands of General Zarafat with Brandon as a witness, strengthens the idea of the four person unit.

Laura Lansing is different from the other bridge crew members as she did not get her start on the Brick. She is a very angry and determined person and it took a long time for the rest of the crew to warm up to her and accept her idiosyncrasies.

I came up with Lieutenant Laura Lansing’s name at the same time as the other bridge crew members. Lansing subconsciously came from the name of one of the buildings at Hobart, where I attended college.

Charlie’s Note:

Lieutenant Lansing. What can I say about Laura Lansing? She didn’t have any friends, nor did she try to make friends. She was extremely efficient at not only the weapons and defense console, but at everything she put her mind to. The only thing she could not excel at was the social side of things. She fumbled in her romantic relationships and never found true love outside of work. I always felt sorry for that woman.