The Orville (the Alternate) Season Three

S3E1 Chapter Two

GORDON

Gordon felt the 2015 cell phone vibrate in his back pocket, the one he'd replicated last year to talk with Laura. Bortus's eyes shifted towards him but no one else at the conference table seemed to notice. Bortus lifted an eyebrow and Gordon winked back at him, a tactic he liked to use to diffuse a questioning glance from another male, usually making the other just uncomfortable enough to look away. Bortus looked away, probably more out of disinterest than discomfort, and turned his attention back to Ed.

"We've been asked to change course and head back to Krill," Ed said.

"What for?" Dr. Finn asked. She looked disgusted by the idea, but Gordon was admittedly a bit sensitive to women's expressions, especially when they were directed toward him, so he was glad this unsavory look from Claire was aimed at Ed and not him. If anyone had an an idea of how easily Gordon was affected by any female's moods, he'd be a laughing stock.

"Apparently, they're cloning people," Ed said.

"What?"

"People?" John jumped in. "Like, humans?"

"No, or at least I don't think so," Ed said. "I assume they're cloning themselves."

"Is that any of our business?" Dr. Finn asked. She still looked displeased, but the expression was toned down a bit.

"It is, if they're part of the Planetary Union," Ed replied. "There are strict policies against it, Galaxy wide."

Gordon's phone buzzed again and a shot of adrenaline coursed through him. It was Laura. He'd started messaging her again a few months ago. Well, not her, but the holodeck's version of her. They'd kept up a long distance friendship and she'd recently broken up with her boyfriend. Things had taken a bit of a heated turn lately and she'd made a joke about him sending a 'selfie' from the shower. He had to look up the word 'selfie,' but was still unclear if it meant just his face, or more of his body.

He clasped his hands together on the conference table, taking slow breaths to calm his emotions. Laura knew he was off work for the evening, so she might think he was ignoring her if he didn't reply. It was the worst timing, having this impromptu briefing after hours. He'd left their conversation in the middle of a flirting session.

"We've been harvesting cloned organs for patients for a long time now," Dr. Finn said.

Kelly was scrolling through some messages on her touch-screen monitor. Gordon wished he was a Commander and could do whatever he wanted, and not be questioned about it.

"This is different," Ed said. "This is a complete recreation of another being, or so we've heard." Ed continued to talk about the moral implications and how the Krill were already cloning hundreds of males from another, non-union species, but Gordon stopped listening at "complete recreation of another being." An idea was forming in his mind, one of such grand proportions that he literally gasped when it popped into his head, drawing John and Kelly's attention. Gordon slammed a palm over his mouth. Ed merely continued, accustomed to ignoring Gordon's regular interruptions during meetings, with his random smart-ass comments.

Gordon's heart pounded in his chest. Now that he'd had this crazy idea, the thought could not be erased. If he got Laura's DNA somehow, from the original cell phone, a piece of skin or an eyelash. Gordon stopped breathing. He had the clear protective case! He'd discovered it on the original phone and had taken it off, on a whim, then kept it in his quarters. What if there was something cloneable, like a small flake of skin, trapped in the phone's protective case...?

"They could be cloning an army," Bortus said.

"Exactly," Ed replied. He looked tired, but kept focused. "Nevertheless, it's not for us to create the rules and regulations set up between the planets in the Union, but simply to enforce..." Ed stopped. He sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. This got Kelly's attention off her touch-screen, which she set down gently on the table.