Nicholas Whitehorse

Nick Whitehorse was born and raised on the streets of New York City. At the age of thirteen he was arrested for spray painting graffiti just outside the Midtown Tunnel and his father set him to military school. Forced to conform, he shaved off his long hair and spent his free time playing flight simulations. Two months before he was scheduled to graduate, Nick had a falling out with his father and left Earth. He took a job as a custodial engineer on the Brick. In his off hours he participated in a simulation league. With Nick as Pilot, his team easily won two seasons in a row, and he was asked not to sign up for the third season. Disappointed, it was Lieutenant Rexford Smoke who had told him not to worry, that he would have plenty of opportunities to fly in the future. Three years later, Nick Whitehorse was the pilot of the Clipper.

Lieutenant Whitehorse is 6′1″ with brown hair that hangs down to his broad shoulders. He has brown eyes and a tan complexion.

Author’s Note:

The decision to create Lieutenant Whitehorse 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.

I thought of Lieutenant Nick Whitehorse’s name at the same time as the other bridge crew members. Whitehorse sounded like a cool last name. It has no significance.

Charlie’s Note:

Lieutenant Whitehorse was an excellent pilot. He had saved the Clipper on many occasions. I was surprised to learn that he conformed in his time at military school because Nick was always the one thinking out of the box. If most people went from step 1 to step 2 to step 3, Nick went straight from step 1 to step 3. He was very charming and boy could that man drink!