GORDON
Gordon Malloy, arguably the best pilot in the Union, studied his face in the bathroom mirror. Average build, maybe a little on the short side, for humans that is, a good looking beard...or was it? He turned his head to one side, then the other. He'd had his beard for so long, he couldn't remember what he looked like without it.
"Grayson to Lieutenant Malloy." Commander Kelly's voice blared over the wristband comm unit, making Gordon jump.
"Turn off music!" Gordon yelled. Up Around the Bend by CCR was playing over the main speakers. Anything by CCR always made Gordon think of flying; out for a short supply run in a shuttle or doing a practice session in a bigger craft, back when he was still in pilot training. Flying was his safe place, where he could be completely in his element. And lately, he'd felt very out of his element, and so he'd put on CCR to feel like himself again.
He fumbled now for the wristband communicator which sat on the bathroom counter, and knocked it to the floor instead. It bounced on the smooth, hard surface and Gordon grimaced. If he broke another wristband communicator, he'd never hear the end of it from John. Comm units couldn't be replicated with a replicator. And they had to pass a series of security checks.
Gordon reached across the floor, on his hands and knees now, and finally tapped the comm.
"Gordon here," he said loud and clear, then he rolled onto his back on the cold surface and shivered, naked. He'd just been about to get into the shower, not because he really needed one again today, but because he'd been toying with the idea of visiting the holodeck to see Laura, and he wanted to be freshly showered. He sighed, aware of how ridiculous it all was. If anyone knew he was still in contact with "2015" Laura, they'd relieve him of duty for being certifiably insane.
"I know it's after hours," Kelly's voice echoed off the bathroom walls. "But we have something important to discuss in the Briefing Room." Her voice made Gordon feel exposed, like she could see he was lying naked on the floor.
"Sure thing," he said. "See you there." He slammed the comm unit with his palm and stared up at the ceiling. Just another day in paradise.
TALLA
"If I tell you to keep everything we talk about, private, and never tell anyone, can you?" Talla tried to catch her breath as she jogged alongside Isaac through a beautiful, holodeck generated park from her home planet Xelaya. They were taking a leisurely pace but Talla was already sweating from the high gravity settings. Isaac never broke a sweat. Talla envied him for that.
"As long as the information you pass on is not necessary for avoiding danger to the crew or other members of the Planetary Union, I am able to keep our interaction confidential, indefinitely," Isaac replied.
"Even keeping it secret from the Kaylon in your reports?"
"I do not report to Kaylon Primary anymore."
Talla glanced at Isaac. He wasn't able to lie. Or perhaps he was? Maybe if it suited his primary directive. She'd been trained to pick up signs of lying from various species, but Isaac had no 'tell.'
"I guess it doesn't matter that much, as long as you're not sharing it with the crew, the way you shared details of your relationship with Dr. Finn in the past."
"I now know that is socially incorrect."
Talla jogged for a moment, feeling that runner's high kick in. She smiled. Finally, she was acclimatizing to Xelayan gravity.
"Should I start now?" Isaac asked.
"What?" Talla took slow, deep breaths, enjoying the high. The holodeck didn't simulate the plant and tree smells of the park, which was too bad, but the air was clearer here than anywhere else on the bridge, maybe because of the open space.
"Should I start keeping everything we say confidential?" Isaac clarified.
"How about, every time we're in the holodeck, doing my gravity exercises, we keep our conversations confidential?"
"Alright."
"I was thinking of coming every three days for gravity exercise, instead of every five days."
"You have already increased your gravity exposure time from every seven days, to every five days. Has Dr. Finn advised this?"
"Well, if I was back on Xelaya, then it would be every day, now wouldn't it?"
"That is correct."
"You don't have to accompany me each time, if you don't want to."
"I will accompany you, as long as my services are not needed by the Captain or other officers, after hours."
"Fair enough."
"Your extra gravity exposure is not necessary, considering you serve on a human starship."
"Well, I don't want to return to Xelaya as a cripple." Talla had heard of what happened to Alara, the last Xelayan security officer to serve on the Orville. Dr. Finn had assured Talla that the once-a-week gravity sessions on the holodeck were more than enough to keep up her bone density and muscle mass, but Talla wanted to remain strong. Unlike Alara, Talla was older, which meant she'd suffer less from these gravity issues, but, as she got older, lack of high gravity exposure would take its toll on her too. Lately, she felt older. Her back hurt last week after a trip to the gym, and she noticed she didn't look as young as she once did.
"Are you planning to return to Xelaya?" Isaac asked.
"What? No." Talla sighed. "I just want to stay in good shape."
Isaac didn't reply and Talla stopped running to stretch, the runner's high had abated as fast as it had come on. She'd asked Isaac to keep their conversations confidential so she could have someone to talk to, even if it was a robot and not an emotional, biological being.
"Actually," she said, her heart speeding up a bit at the thought of opening up to someone. "I don't know." She stopped. "Hey Isaac?"
"Yes?"
"Would it be alright if I asked you to turn off your internal comm unit for the rest of our jog? It's after hours and I'm the security chief. There's always the potential for being recorded, while channels are open and the system is listening for commands."
"Not a problem. The comm unit has been temporarily deactivated."
"Okay, thank you. I left my wristband in my quarters."
"Did you deactivate it?"
"No."
"Then it will notify you of any missed communications, when you return."
"It was a pretty chill work day. I think we'll be fine. But I just wanted to feel free to talk." She looked down at her feet, which had cushioned shoes on them. "I don't know why I feel so secretive about regular things, it's just...private, you know?"
"What is?"
"Talking about my feelings."
"You were saying you are not sure whether to go back to Xelaya or not."
"I guess I've been feeling isolated here, even more than I felt on Xelaya, which I didn't think possible, since I'm of a lower intelligent lineage, among my people."
"Have you shared these feelings of isolation with anyone?"
An Eevak emerged from the foliage to their left and Talla grabbed Isaac's arm. "Isaac, look!"
"An Eevak," he said, emotionlessly.
Talla scampered her way through the brush to reach the Eevak. Her heart sank as she felt its artificial existence. It was almost frightening. Eevak's had a gentle nature that brought immediate calm to anyone who came near them. But this one did not have that effect. It was not a real Eevak. Talla's shoulders slumped. She turned to look back at Isaac. He was not a real being either. Suddenly she felt more isolated from any connection to another biological being than she'd ever felt in her life.
Talla didn't bother petting the Eevak, but returned to the pathway again. Isaac stood with his arms slightly bent, in that robotic way of his.
"To answer your question," she said, "I don't talk to anyone about my feelings, really."
"Dr. Finn is the ship's counselor."
"That's exactly it," Talla said, starting up her jog again. "I work with Dr. Finn, she's not separate from my acquaintances, do you know what I mean?"
"Yes, it is difficult for a therapist to maintain her neutrality in her sessions, when treating someone she knows on a personal level."
"Exactly."
"As a non-biological entity, I could be considered impartial and neutral, in listening to you."
"Yeah." Talla smiled at Isaac. "That's what I was thinking too."
"And yet," Isaac continued. "Your view of me as a non-acquaintance and someone you do not consider connected to you on a personal level, alienates me in the same way you are feeling alienated. I am someone who has no emotional connections either."
"Awww," Talla said, not sure if she actually felt bad or just wanted to laugh. "Well, it's a good thing you don't have feelings, right?"
"Yes. If I did, I would feel isolated and disconnected from you and the others."
"I wish I could just look at everything logically, the way you do."
"You can. You come from a race that is highly intellectual and logical."
"I think I missed the intellectual gene, and got the emotional one instead."
"It is not possible for you to have missed a gene of intellect in place of a gene of emotion."
"I mean I'm not as smart as most Xelayans."
"You have never come across as an uncommonly emotional biological being."
"I hide it well."
"Why?"
Talla didn't answer, because she didn't know the answer to that question.