Cultured. (Orville x Reader)

Chapter One.

Union Central Head Quarters.

New York City, Planet Earth.

***

Y/N had arrived on Earth after a consistent forty-eight hours of high-risk travel, which included her and a trusted Krill confidant (who served as an underground member of a Krill Union network) leaving Krill in a 'research shuttle', which they subsequently blew up with two stolen cadavers in it, as a means of faking their deaths. They were then taken on an actual Union shuttle to a supply vessel, which dropped them onto Earth a day later, during nightfall.. It was an exhausting trip, and she passed out as soon as she returned to her apartment in Manhattan.

She slept for fourteen hours straight, and woke up to a near-blinding light.

"Fuck!" She yelled, turning away from her window. Blindly, she scrambled into her closet and reached for her box of summer supplies until she got out her prescription sunglasses.

Finally, she could see the world again -- though now with a purple tint.

The light also felt unusually hot on her skin, which she only now realized was unusually pale.

She pulled a hoodie from her closet and pulled it on, painstakingly re-entering the brightness of her bedroom to get her phone, which she used to call Admiral Halsey.

"Yes, Agent?"

"I need a medic... I think my time on Krill was more physically altering than we first realized. I am incredibly sensitive to the sun -- can you send a medical transport vehicle for me?"

"Yes, will do -- they'll be there shortly."

Y/N hung up, and hid behind the side of her bed which blocked the window's blistering rays. She sat there, helpless, for about ten minutes. Then, there was a pounding at her front door.

"COME IN!" Y/N shouted. The door was forced open -- she could tell by the sound of screeching metal -- and two medics came into her room with black-out blankets which they wrapped around her, draping one over her head like a cloak. They helped her down the elevator and finally into an ambulance. Y/N was close to silent the entire time.

When they finally arrived at the Union HQ hospital, Y/N was nearly blinded by the white lights. She pulled the cloak further over her head.

Thankfully, the room she was being treated in was dimly lit, and she was able to shed the protective layers and sit on the hospital bed.

After a few moments, a Doctor entered the room. He was an older fellow, with greying hair and wire glasses. He was exactly the kind of man Y/N envisioned would cure her.

Unfortunately, visions only go so far.

"Tell me, Miss Priest, is it true that you are half Xeleyan?"

"Yes," Y/N nodded, watching as the doctor flipped through her medical charts, "On my mother's side."

"Well, one of the pluses of such DNA is that it tries to adapt to its environment over a long period of time. Your skin cells taught themselves how to survive without sunlight," The doctor explained, still looking at her chart, "Unfortunately, this now means they struggle to absorb vitamin D and fight off UV rays. In time, they will relearn, but there is no immediate solution."

"So... what the hell do I do? Burn up every time I leave the house? Or when someone turns the lights on?"

"No, you slowly expose yourself for more and more time everyday. Start with two minutes. Then four... the next day eight. Increase it exponentially and always wear sunblock."

"Great..." Y/N sighed, "What about daily tasks? What about getting out of this hospital room and back to my apartment? What about my next assignment?"

"We're programming a synthesizer to make you a black-out umbrella, and I will send your medical report to the Head Doctor on the ship where you are set to be stationed. She will be able to use a simulator for UV treatment."

Y/N sighed again, still frustrated. "Yeah, okay, fine. Just get me the umbrella and a cloak so I can Dracula my ass by to my apartment."

The doctor nodded, and left to go collect the necessary items. 

***

When Y/N got home, she shut all the blinds and curtains, and dug through her closet before locating her baggy black slacks and a grey, poncho-like shirt which managed to cover her arms and entire torso. It also had a high neck, which was helpful. She finally pulled on black boots, and styled her hair as best she could. She was now too pale for the majority of her old makeup, and opted for a clear lipgloss and a bit of blush on each cheek.

When she was ready, she grabbed her laptop and copy of the Ahkana before grabbing her cloak -- which did actually look like Dracula's, or maybe the Phantom of the Opera's -- and pulling it on. She also grabbed her new black-out umbrella, and began her journey one-block down to the Union Headquarters, where she would be giving the biggest debriefing of her life. 

The walk was not nearly as bad as she foresaw, minus the hundred of stares she earned from the unsuspecting New York public. 

Then, there was making her way through the all-white, ultra minimal interior of the Headquarters themselves, which involved just as many stares, until she made it to one top offices of men and women as powerful as Admiral Halsey. 

Upon entering his office, she was greeted by a secretary she knew well -- his name was Ethan, and they met several times before in this very building, and even twice for drinks afterwork. She would go so far as to call him a friend, but could tell he wanted much more by the way he once looked at her across the bar. 

"What the hell happened to you?" Ethan asked, his face a mix of concern and amusement.

"Turn the lights off and I'll tell you."

Ethan obliged, reaching over to a keypad and dimming the lights. She closed her umbrella and placed it by the door, keeping her cloak on. 

"I went without UV exposure for a year and now my skin and eyes are incredibly sensitive to light... is Halsey here?"

"Yeah, he is expecting you... go on in."

Y/N nodded and walked to the door past Ethan's desk, knocking once. They immediately opened, and the room was already dimmed for her. The Admiral sat at his desk, with two other men she did not recognize sitting as well.

"Y/N... we've reviewed your report in full. These gentlemen have some questions they would like to ask you," Admiral Halsey explained, motioning to the two men, "They are Admiral Perry, Head of Diplomatic Affairs, and Admiral Diminsky, Head of Covert Operations."

"Nice to meet you, gentlemen. Apologies for the darkness, my time in Krill space has had some medical impacts."

"We've heard," Perry answered, sitting back in his chair, "We are most interested in your writings regarding the Krill religion, and their worship of the deity, 'Avis'." 

Y/N sat down, and began what would become a six hour debriefing of Krill -- their planet, their customs, and their ways of life. 

***

A/N: Next chapter, you'll be on the Orville -- promise!