The Orville (the Alternate) Season Three

S1E16

Author's Note: Many apologies for not writing last week! It was Holy Week and everything was so busy around Easter. But I'm back at it!  A couple addendums, I've been spelling Teleya's name wrong (as Talaya) but likely won't go back to change those, also the Krill language is called Krillain, which I've only recently become privy too. Anyhow, here are some more chapters! Thanks for reading <3 

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JOHN

"I seriously owe you big time, buddy," Gordon said.

"Yes, you do," John replied. Gordon had been ignoring him for weeks, but was now calling him buddy simply because John was helping him out. John couldn't deny it hurt a bit, though, truth be told, he didn't really mind being dragged into this risky undertaking. His days in engineering were becoming mundane and repetitive. So much so that he'd been feeling a bit depressed, despite his life being perfectly fine. Sure, he didn't have a girlfriend, but he never felt the need to have one to be happy. He had no trouble getting girls, when he was looking. His friendships mattered more, which was why he was here, putting his job and life on the line for one of his close friends.

John adjusted the thrusters again to keep the shuttle on course. The Krill shuttle was unnecessarily complicated. It could have been simplified and made a lot more user friendly, from an engineering standpoint. Not to mention, it was inefficient. Gordon was a master pilot, taking command of the ship's movements with ease despite the poor steering response. But he wouldn't have been able to fly this thing without a co-pilot, no matter how good he was.

John went down after work to look over the Orville shuttles and realized that if Gordon took an Orville shuttle, he'd be shot out of the sky the moment he came into view from the planet. His only hope was to take the Krill shuttle. Now they were here, flying a Krill shuttle to the planet.

The flight was eerily silent. One thing the shuttle did have going for it was that it was very well isolated for sound. Barely a hum from the engine could be heard. The Orvile always had that hum, even more so in engineering where John worked all day. But here he felt like he'd gone deaf, except for the ringing in his ears.

"Smooth ride," he said, wanting to break the anticlimactic tension of their descent onto Krill.

"I could sure use some good ol' CCR road trip music right now," Gordon replied.

John reached into his back pocket to pull out his hand-held, so he could play some music off the tiny speakers, only to realize it wasn't there.

The seriousness of what they were doing hit him then. They were about to land on Krill in a stolen Krill shuttle, without their comm systems, which they left behind so that they wouldn't be traced, and now had no way to contact the Orville once they landed.

"So you know where this temple is?" John asked.

Gordon didn't reply as they entered the atmosphere. His hands were shaking and John's stomach clenched. He held his breath, waiting for the ship's comm system to come online and ask them something in Krillain, which they wouldn't understand or be able to answer. The holographic devices they'd stolen from security, with Talla's help, would change their appearance but had no translator installed. Their translators were in the wrist comms and hand-helds, which they'd left behind.

Gordon guided them to a dark area of the planet, darker than the other dark areas, where there seemed to be no civilization, judging by the lack of any lights from buildings down below.

John glanced over at the scan readings. It looked like they read about a couple dozen bio signs and the outline of a large building.

"Is that the temple?" he asked.