**Just saying, this chapter is long!**
A video messages plays of a distressed man in an slightly different environment.
"Hello, my name is Michael. As I am recording this message, our planet is in uproar. We have absolutely no control of our government, our rights as human beings and we are being unlawfully punished because our government is run by a psychopath. I ask, to anyone who can access Quanta, and to anyone who will listen, please....help us"!
Admiral Halsey overviews the video message that was sent through Quanta. Ed and Kelly are both adjacent to him, looking to him for a response. He stands with his thumb under his chin and his left arm holding his right. "How in the hell did he even get access to a galactic, military-grade network in the first place"? He breaks the silence by asking. Ed shrugs, holding his hands outward in confusion.
"We, aren't sure how. We don't know the name or location of the planet nor do we have any idea what we could be up against if we did know. From what I've gathered from the message, something has probably invaded them and taken rulership over them".
"Krill, maybe"? Admiral Halsey suspects. Kelly and Ed nod in agreement.
"We didn't think of that as a possibility however, we, are unfortunately still at war with them so, it's an educated assumption". Kelly chimes, still with concern in her voice.
"Ultimately, we're asking what we can do? I don't think this is one of our unified planets. I mean, this guy is simply asking for help. For whatever reason, he has access to our communications and knows we exist. Do you think it would be at all a consequence for getting involved"?
The Admiral takes the glass tablet in his hand and stares into it while in thought.
"I'll have to converse with the consensus to gain a better perspective on the matter. Personally, I don't believe there would be that much chaos in intervening but, some might look at it as already compromised and insist you simply, ignore the call. But we aren't as callus as some might believe. These people need our help, and maybe we could sanction them under our protection if necessary—but anyways, let me talk to them, and I'll contact you once I get a confirmation".
With a smile, Admiral leaves the room to Kelly and Ed. They both exhale and take a seat. The balcony behind them is coated in evening sunlight, reflecting off perfect stainless glass windows of New York buildings. Ed looks out the window with a concerned face and Kelly watches, thinking of what to say.
"Are you thinking about Anaya"? She asks reluctantly.
"I am.....and I don't know how I could, somehow tell her I'm sorry for being a little, cold towards her".
She places a hand on his. "It's been a couple months since then. Maybe she's gotten over it somehow? It's not like you can call her up and check in. I say, just think positively about the whole thing". Kelly explains.
"She's tried to contact me numerous times on a private frequency to just, chat. I haven't gotten the time, energy or even, care, to get back to her". Ed looks down at his hands, somewhat ashamed by his lack of concern for his daughter.
"So she has reached out? Why don't you just, on a day where you're not busy, just go talk to her, Ed. She's your daughter, and she clearly, loves you. Plus, you're the only family she has. For a time, she probably thought her father was dead, along with her mother. I couldn't imagine to think about being alone, after my Father passed, and thinking my mother was dead as well, to then be reunited with her. It's a magnitude of emotions that are unmatched. Finally, she realizes she's not alone anymore".
Ed shakes his head. Kelly notices the pain in his face. His anger. "No, Kelly, I can't! I can't". He exhales.
"Why"? She asks, tilting her head to one side.
"Because I, don't want her to get hurt, killed even, god forbid assassinated for, I don't know, showing weakness for mankind. Or even worse, letting a Union Captain, live. There's too much consequence for bringing her further into my life. For both of us. Now, more than ever, and, Teleya....Kelly, I fell in love with her. Not her façade, her. I never thought, in my life, that I'd fall for someone who isn't human, especially someone who was an enemy of mine. But I did, and now, she's....". Ed bites his lip in frustration of not having done something to prevent her death.
"Gone....". Kelly finishes his sentence.
"Yes. She's gone.......Let's head back to the Orville and await the Admiral's call". Ed wipes the expression from his face, and even the conversation taking place, getting up out of his seat and heading for the door. Kelly still sits, closing her eyes and exhaling in defeat as she lightly taps the table with her palm before getting up. As she does, she begins to feel a bit queasy, looking for a nearby garbage, only to remember a little robot came to clear the garbage earlier and hasn't brought back the bin.
She stumbles a little, walking out of the room, looking at a nearby office of a Union representative. She slowly emerges from it, coming to the door to greet Kelly.
"Hey, Kelly! It's me, Rachel! It's been a while since—"
"Hey! I w-wish we could chat more but I desperately need a bathroom". She stumbles away from Rachel as she looks on in blatant confusion.
Finally she enters one. Her and Ed occupy a stall with Kelly leaning her head in the toilet and vomiting as Ed holds her hair back.
"This is the fourth time you've thrown up this week! What the hell is going on with you"? He adjures. She leans on the toilet seat, trying to catch her breath.
"I think, I think it might be side effects of that shot Dr. Finn gave us after visiting the Jovian sector". Ed thought about it for a second. "Mmh, she did say it would cause side effects. Y'know, I thought we kinda, evolved pass the whole gravity sickness phenomena". Ed states, still holding Kelly's hair back while she vomited once more. She leans her head up again to continue speaking.
"Clearly we haven't! Plus, Jupiter's gravity is so dense, I'm glad it was just a little dizziness we felt instead of what the alternative would've been ". She explains as she flushes the toilet.
"Are you finished vomiting"? He asks, cautioning himself into a corner of the stall as she gets back on her feet. She turns to him, silently analyzing how she feels as of current, only to shake her head and proceed back to vomiting.
They both return safely to The Orville and Kelly takes a visit to Dr. Finn's office as she's busy taking care of Topah.
"Okay, I'm giving you a female Moclan hormone injection. Thanks to Haveena's sanctuary, we have created all kinds of gender reassignment medicines that are leagues better than those of old Earth. So, to explain the treatment, It's a method called Hormone Replacement Therapy, or HRT if you will. It's to regulate your female hormones within your body, from your mostly dominant male hormones. Of course you need both but, since you are now female, you will need to balance out the two". Dr Finn explains to her as she administers the shot.
"There, you're all set. You're to come back in a month for another one, okay"?
Topah nods, giving her a smile. Kelly smiles in the distance. "Thank you, for everything you've done for me, Dr. Finn".
She responds in a smile. "You're most welcome, Topah".
Topah gets up from the patient seat and waves to Kelly before leaving. As Dr. Finn cleans the area she notices Kelly standing there, looking uneasy.
"Commander, what seems to be the matter"? She asks with an almost motherly voice.
"I think I might be having a severe reaction to that shot you gave us".
Dr Finn taps the seat for Kelly to sit down in and goes to grab her scanner.
"Well, what seems to be the problem? Is it bloating, vomiting, swelling"? She asks as she hovers the scanner over Kelly's body carefully.
"I've been having some problems with keeping my lunch in my stomach so far, and maybe just a little bloating? I've noticed I've been a little, gassier since—"
Dr Finn analyzes what she's scanned, her eyes opening just a little at the results.
"What"? Kelly adjures.
"Commander, what you're experiencing, has nothing to do with the shot at all. Kelly, you're pregnant"!
"WHAT"?! Kelly's eyes open wide as she places a hand on her stomach, realizing she has "a bump". It was faint, but noticeable in her uniform.
"From the looks of it, you've been pregnant for about 3 months now". Dr Finn explains casually.
"Mercer to Grayson. Can you come to my office? Admiral Halsey and I are on call and waiting for you".
She continues to look into Dr. Finn's eyes. "Did you say, 3 months"?
"Mhm". She nods.
"Oh, oh my god".
Kelly rushes to Ed's office. She stumbles in with her hair in fumbles, looking at Ed's face as he raises a cautious brow. "Should I ask"?
"No, no. Please don't".
"Okay. Sorry about that Admiral, we're both here and awaiting your response". Kelly stands behind Ed, watching the back of his head. She continues to be in deep thought, tuning out their voices to complete mumbles as Ed turns to her.
"Kelly"?
"Huh! Wha—I'm so sorry Admiral! What was the question"?
Admiral chuckles a bit at Kelly's awkwardness before correcting her.
"It wasn't a question I was asking, more of a response to Ed's earlier question, whether we should intervene in the affairs of a intergalactic species who clearly know of who we are". He explains. She nods. "Yes, and what did the consensus say"?
"They said to proceed, but with caution. As Ed mentioned, we don't know what it is we are dealing with. It could be internal, or something else that is completely anomalous. We believe that it could be Krill but, it's honestly all speculation. However, if we could prevent further destruction of their world, we will sanction them under our protection".
"And what about the name of the planet"?
Admiral Halsey smiles. "I'm sure you're familiar with Sargus-4"?
Ed and Kelly take very hard looks at each other. Ed shakes his head in disbelief.
"Sargus-4 is a completely undeveloped planet. How in the hell did they get access to a intergalactic, military network?! That, that doesn't make sense"!
Admiral Halsey shifts his head to one side slightly, closing his eyes and lifting his brows in agreement. "I pose the same question myself, Captain. Either way, if you have any valuable information that you think is important enough for us, report it directly to me". He points a stern finger to the screen.
"Understood". They both respond.
"Halsey out". The screen collapses in front of them. Ed turns a perplexed face, up at Kelly's. "Sargus-4? Something smells real, fishy about this distress call....".
"But we did say we'd check it out".
"Yeah, I mean, I'm not saying we should back out. I'm just, concerned. What if it's not Krill, but Kaylon"?!
Kelly agrees. "Oh my god, I didn't think about that".
Ed nods. "Yeah, I mean, they could've completely overthrown their whole planet, and this message could be some sorta ruse to have us in a vulnerable spot".
"Should we call Admiral back"?
Ed scoffs. "No! We're going to tackle this. It's not like we've never faced up against them before! Plus, we'd know they're expecting us so, we have an advantage".
"Yeah, but Ed, last time we did it alone, this ship was almost disintegrated. Even as a band of ships, we still lost a lot, of lives. Ensign Burke can tell you all about it".
"No, we're doing this. We can't just, back out now! What are we, sissies"?!
"Sometimes, being a Sissy, is safer than not".
Ed breathily chuckles before getting up out of his seat and pushing in his chair.
"We depart at 0800 hours". He exits the room.
Kelly curls her lips in frustration as she really wanted to tell Ed that she's pregnant. Maybe to throw some sense into him, not realizing that could have some adverse effects. Ed comes back in suddenly, startling her. He raises a brow. "Hey, do you want to talk about that entrance a couple minutes ago? I mean, you look like you were fighting for your life before running all the way here".
"No, I don't, good night, Ed. See you in the morning". She walks swiftly pass him. He scrunched his face in confusion. "Huh". He lets out before going to his quarters.
Morning rose and Kelly was already head first in the toilet. "Oh god, I hate this". She mumbled to herself. A request to come into her quarters was initiated. She wipes her mouth.
"Who is it"?! She shouts.
"It's Claire, everything alright in there"?
"Yeah, come in". Kelly leans back into the toilet bowl, still vomiting. Claire walks up to the doorframe of the bathroom, looking down at her. "You must be having the time of your life". She jokes.
Kelly rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I sure am, ugh".
"Well, when are you going to tell Ed"? She leans on the doorframe some, folding her arms.
"When the time is right". She replies.
"Well, it's not like you can just, hide your growing womb. You're going to have to tell him or he's gunna find out and I don't think he'll be happy about it".
"I'm aware, Claire". Kelly states with irritation. Claire exhales, rolling her eyes.
"Besides, he's got other more pressing things to worry about. I don't want him to be stressed out about me".
Claire shook her head. "Oh, oh no he's not going to be that stressed about you. It'll be more about his chair".
Kelly wipes her mouth with a nearby towel she put in the bathroom for precautionary reasons, and turns her head to meet Claire's face.
"What would be the reason for him to care so much more about his chair than me"?
Claire leaned in a little. "Kelly, it's a conflict of interests, and not only that, insubordination. You can be demoted or if Ed takes the blame, he'll be too"!
Kelly scoffs. "I think you might be overreacting a bit. I mean, him and I were married once and Admiral Halsey knew that".
"And because you divorced, you were eligible to be his first officer".
Kelly stands up from the toilet seat and flushes. "Claire, I haven't even told him yet. Until it's time, I'll keep it secret and when he finds out, I have a plan".
Claire side eyes her. "Uhuh, but that's not the reason I'm here, really. I came to give you something to help ease the morning sickness a little". She digs in her pocket and gives her a few ampules of medicine for her to take.
"When I was pregnant with Ty and Marcus, I would usually take these every night before I went to sleep, to help me in the morning. The side effects are a little annoying but, you'll eventually get used to it".
Kelly receives them happily. "Thank you Claire"!
"You're welcome, Commander. Please, don't let, this". She points around her little bump. "Get out of hand".
"I'll make sure to be responsible, okay"!
After Claire left, Kelly gets ready for the day. Looking in the mirror to make sure her clothes she had underneath her uniform, weren't too abnormal for questioning. After that, she walked to the bridge, greeting the crew before sitting down.
"Commander". Bortus says, looking at Kelly suspiciously.
"Yes, Bortus"?
"Something is, off about you. I cannot tell if it is your garments or, your weight".
Kelly looks around the room, nervously chuckling before coming back to look at Bortus. "There's nothing wrong, Bortus, I promise you".
Ed walks in and everyone greets him. He returns them happily before sitting. He also notices Kelly's abnormal size and scrunches his face at it.
"Kelly, have you been gaining weight?! I mean, you look a little—"
He gestures his hands wide around his abdomen. Kelly side eyes him
"Wow, Ed, such a nice thing to say".
Ed throws his hands up in surrender.
"What! I'm just, asking a question"! Kelly quickly gets up from her seat, gesturing an announcement.
"Listen, everyone, I am not that fat! I put on a few pounds, yes. But it's not concerning"! Kelly explains to the room before sighing and sitting back down in frustration. "Jesus"! She whispers to herself.
Ed gives a chuckle.
"It'll only be concerning once you can't outrun a Kaylon".
Kelly squints eyes at him. "Shut it, Ed".
Gordon turns around irritatingly. "Hey, are we all done calling the Commander fat?! I wanna get goin'"!
Ed smiles. "Take us out anytime, Gordon"!
They head out for Sargus-4.
The Orville emerges from quantum speed in front of the planet. Isaac fills them in on what's been happening.
"Captain, from my scans of the planet, I have gathered many media files that are quite recent, from the news satellites".
Ed sits further in his chair, looking to Isaac with curiosity. "Can you put the file on screen for us"?
"Of course, Captain. Although what you might see, will be worse off than when we left the planet". Isaac warns before he puts a news clip on the screen in front of the crewmen.
The news clip plays.
"As far as it is concerned, I have not approved of such information, therefore it is NOT fact! For you to even stand here in my court and demand that I approve it as such is disrespectful! I honestly can't even begin to understand how you'd think that approach would work"! The woman sits at a table, amongst many others who dress similarly to her, in a room that overlooks the entire city. They all don't seem to wear badges anymore.
"But, Your Influence, these people demand treatment of illnesses that they cannot fight on their own! They need specific medication"! The man irritatedly explains. "Them, or you"?! She asks intimidatingly.
"We are ALL calling for it"! He puts his hands outward in bottled anger. She grabs his overly done articles on the matter.
"I've overviewed your statement on what medications are, in your case, vital for the survivability of our people, and I've concluded it to NOT be factual"! She spits back, with more irritation.
"But the medical procedures and the medications you've deemed vital do nothing but put those who take it, in a vegetative state, worsen their condition, or outright kills them"!
She shakes her head. Putting her hands down on the table and leans in slowly.
"Ive concluded that the information you pose to me, is not factual. There is no more debate".
The crew looked on in horror.
"What the f—"
Ensign Burke shakes her head in disgust and disbelief. "There's no, goddamn way a planet functions like this. There's no way". She turns to Kelly and Ed.
"My god, I gotta say, and as much as it hurts me to say it, Sargus-4 seemed more civilized when there was a voting system in place. This is just, complete dictatorship"! Kelly explains unnervingly.
Ed squints at the woman sitting in the main seat at the table. "Hold on, that's....".
Isaac nods. "Yes, Captain, it is indeed, Lysella".
Talla looks to Ed with suspicion in her eyes. He receives them with the same expression. "So I overviewed the final reports from Alara about this planet the last time you visited and, um you, uh, don't think we had anything to do with this, right"? She asks.
"Um, no! No most definitely not. Because, because it was bound to happen anyway, right"?
"I'm asking you". Talla points to Ed.
"What are you asking me"? Ed scratches his head in nervous-based confusion. Kelly looks at both of them. "Okay, look. I don't know, if we did have a hand in Lysella becoming a tyrant but, something is gravely wrong here and by the looks of it, people are getting hurt and or killed in vain. We need to do something".
She looks to Ed. "Let me gather a team and we head down there to see what's going on".
Ed sighs, not seeing much of an option. "If we actually did have a hand in it, the damage's already been done so, go forth". He motions a stressed hand of permission, leaning his forehead into the other as he sighs.
Kelly, Talla, Claire and LaMarr dress up, take a shuttle and head for the surface. While they headed down to the planet, something appeared on their navigation array.
"What's this? Someone sent us landing coordinates...how is this possible right now". LaMarr states with a cautious look to the planet.
"We don't know, that's why we're here investigating". Kelly states as she stands with one hand gripping his seat.
"Okay, and what are we gunna do to stop them"?
"LaMarr! I haven't really gotten to that stage just yet". Kelly squints in slight irritation.
They cloak up and follow the coordinates to a Helipad that sat on top of Sargus-4's government building. LaMarr caught a glimpse of Lysella as she waited there for them to land. She wore a woman's blue suit and a unique blazer to go with it. LaMarr also noticed how distinguished she was from her people. He definitely saw her aura changed a bit too. It was, to put it in Layman's terms, very unstable.
She watched the shuttle land with her hand above her brows to block out the sun. Eventually the crew emerge from it and go to greet Lysella.
"Wow, feels like centuries ago since I found out you all were from the stars! Welcome back to Sargus-4! Surely things have changed and now..." She looks to LaMarr with heart shaped eyes. "Now, we no longer have to worry about stupid numbers being a reason someone doesn't get what they want". She states, biting her lip. LaMarr looks on, clueless.
"It's nice to finally be back but, unfortunately, we aren't here on vacation. We have some, very particular questions we'd like to ask you". Kelly interjects. Lysella makes a face.
"Follow me to my office then! We can discuss everything there".
They depart from the Helipad and head to her office. When the four arrived, they all had a creepy feeling whilst they entered. It was the same place the debate was held, a debate that could've killed many after it concluded. They felt as if something more happens here, when cameras aren't rolling. She sits down and crosses her fingers against the newly polished table, watching as they got comfortable.
"So! What's your first question"? She asks giddily.
Kelly and LaMarr sit while Claire and Talla stand adjacent to them.
"Firstly..." Kelly clears her throat. "What the hell happened since our first visit"?!
Lysella stretches out her arms as she leans her elbows against the reflective table.
"Well, I, changed my planet's perception of what's right and wrong. I became their voice of reason as a result. However, it wasn't overnight success. It took a lot of time, and a tremendous amount of effort. Too much, in my opinion, to get here. Of course I have you all to thank for that"!
"Well, how so? We didn't mention anything that could help you towards your goal when you came aboard our ship". Claire clarified.
"You said that we could do better. That and the fact that you showed me a world where society was still unified, even without a voting system in place. People chose to do the right thing because it was the right thing to do. Not because the whole spaceship voted and concluded that it was. It felt natural, to be able to plan something and execute it on your own. It was a powerful message, conveyed through action". Lysella emphasized passionately.
"Shit...." Kelly whispered.
"Well....I guess that answers that". Claire said, looking to Kelly and Kelly, looking back. Both females concerned.
"And what about the person who sent for us? What was his name—Michael"?
Lysella chuckles. "Oh, that guy? Oh he's been arrested. He used to be a publicity officer, we dated for a while. Nice guy but, he was kinda annoying. Kept telling me how I should live and stuff". She plays with a few strands of loose hair.
"That leads me to my next question; how did he get access to Quanta"? Kelly asks.
"He didn't get access to anything. He used it, sure. It was illegal because it was only intended for me to use. But he felt so determined to send a message to the far reaches of space because he needed to stop me for.....whatever it was he felt he needed to stop me for. Kinda glad he did because, I've always wanted a chance to thank you all for inspiring me". Lysella states in awe.
"And how did you gain access to it first"? Kelly continues the conversation at hand.
"Your missing anthropologists...". She looks to Claire.
"Elaborate..". Kelly demands.
"I spent some time with them, when they were on this planet. I knew they were very, different from everyone else, even when they tried to fit in. Kelvic mythology claims that there are beings that live amongst the stars above us, and they seldom come down from their stars to drink of our atmosphere. They also believe the beings are no different from us, thus is why they need elements like hydrogen and oxygen, to continue to live". Lysella explains.
"Wow, you're WAY more sophisticated than we all thought you were". Kelly responds.
"Agreed". LaMarr adds.
.
"So you knew...."? Claire asks lightly. Listening to Lysella continue on speaking, connected many things inside her head, but she needed the truth to piece it all together.
"Why did you pretend to be clueless to everything"? Claire continues with a disturbed voice. "Did you know how to tamper with the Master Feed as well"?
"One: I, don't pretend to do anything. I did know, to a certain point. I needed some kind of proof so, I did a little digging when they weren't in their apartment and I found research notes, even communication devices in a suitcase they had. That's when I knew for sure, they were what Kelvic folklore talked about.. Two: Of course I did, but I didn't have anything to tamper it with. However your anthropologists did. I took it from them".
Claire froze, at the realization that Lysella was the reason it all happened in the first place. She took the only resources they had, and didn't use them to get Tom and Lewis back home safely as to not risk being compromised. She took off her medicine pack and nearly jumped across the table with only an intent to hurt Lysella. Kelly and LaMarr immediately grab her before Lysella could call security. Claire's hair was fumbled in front of her face but she looked at her with devilish eyes.
"IT WAS YOU! You're the reason Tom was killed!! You are the reason Lewis was lobotomized!! You caused all this when it could've been avoided. How can you even LIVE with yourself"! Claire shouted in rage.
"See, the thing is, I couldn't do anything. Because before I even found the device, they were already on their way to a million downvotes and about to be arrested for—"
"You're LYING"! Claire interrupts venomously.
"And your proof"? Lysella antagonizes.
Claire pleads that Kelly let her go so that she could fly across the table. She begged her. Talla walks over to them. "Commander, do you want me to escort Dr. Finn back to the shuttle"? Talla asks, seeing that it was only going to get worse from here.
"That would be great! Please, just, Claire can get a little rowdy, just don't hurt her". Kelly explains, while she still holds on to Claire as she tries to wiggle her way out of her grasp.
"Understood". Kelly passes her to Talla.
"No! No—Commander please, PLEASE"! Claire begs as she is pulled along, back to the shuttle. LaMarr plans to tag along. "I'm gunna go with them, maybe I can just, talk Dr. Finn down a little".
Kelly nods to him before he departs.
There was a brief silence.
Kelly turns to Lysella. "Okay, so now that you've created a conflict, what was the reason for that"? Kelly folds her arms tightly.
"More importantly, actually. Why did you take the device, if you knew that it was capable of saving them? And if it was after the fact, why didn't you do something to stop them from being corrected"? Kelly asks as she sits back down.
"Because I wasn't enlightened at the time. I saw what they did and what happened to them as a end that justified the means".
"A quote from Machiavelli....any more surprises"?
Lysella giggles. "All because I knew what they were, doesn't make what they did, any less disrespectful. I mean, could you imagine being a pregnant woman, tired and stressed, only to take a bus ride home and stand, for the entirety of it while two able men, sit and have their conversation that they could have had, standing up? Of course, in my world, things are always taken to an extreme. I get that. But truthfully, I couldn't do anything to save your friends. I stole their means of getting out of the mess they were in, but I didn't fully understand how it worked, until I boarded your ship".
"My god, you pretended your little ass all the way up until we shuttled you back home".
"Aaaagain, I don't pretend, to do anything. I've never seen or boarded a spaceship ever, in my life. Excuse me for being surprised by that. I was merely learning by observation. When I got back, I realized I could use the device to help get my point across. I was disgusted by my world, and how they went about things after my time on The Orville. So I reacted to it. I did and said many things to warrant me enough downvotes to get corrected twice over. But I kept overloading the master feed to the point where people had no choice, but to see everything from my viewpoint. Eventually, I was revered. Everyone started asking me the hard questions and I gave them the answer. "A voice should be earned, not given away". That's what your Moclan lieutenant commander said, did he not"?
Kelly took some time to digest the story she was told. "And where exactly, did you earn this voice, Lysella? Because all I heard was, manipulation".
"And who are you to claim my actions as manipulative? Did you suddenly forget that you did the same thing to get your navigator back"? She spat.
"Yeah, but we did it to save him, not so that he could take innocent lives based on what he believed to be or not to be, fact"!
"And yet, this argument goes nowhere because you still manipulated millions of people, for your own selfish gain. Tell me, Commander, if you believe so much in justice for all, then why wasn't LaMarr corrected"?
"I'm not answering that because you know my answer! You manipulated your world for a selfish reason but you dubbed it as "earning a voice", when you didn't earn a damn thing! And from the news feed we saw before landing here, all you are doing is virtually killing your own people because you ignore what's rightfully, and unwillingly factual! You can't make up fact! Those people need medication suitable for their recovery"!
Lysella gets up and struts over to a suitcase and pulls it off of the showcase while Kelly talks her to death. She struts back over to Kelly to place it in front of her.
"Are you even listening"?! She asks, annoyed by Lysella's body language.
"Is this why you're here"? She opens the suitcase to reveal the Quanta along with other devices. "If it is, just take it and go. You don't need to waste your energy on talking to me".
She closes it and lazily slides it closer to Kelly. She places her hand on it, but she doesn't get up from her seat. "Yes, we came for this but after seeing what's been happening here, I think we should talk more about it! Lysella, we can chan—" Lysella presses a button under the table for security and they open the doors quickly. "You called, Your Influence"?
She nods. "Take this lady back to her shuttle".
Kelly takes the briefcase to her side and holds up a stern snd threatening finger up at them. "Don't even try". She warns. She turns back to Lysella. "This, all of this, isn't right and you know it. You're just too caught up in this delusion that you can't see the mistakes that you're making". Lysella looks outside through her window with her arms folded in silence. Kelly continues. "Manipulating people who need someone or something to tell them what's right or wrong isn't balanced enough but, when you put one person in charge of that, it crumbles completely! This is opposite of what we wanted you to understand".
Lysella didn't say anything, she stayed with her back to Kelly as she was pulled out of the room. "Lysella"! She called out, but she continued to look out the window, Kelly noticed Lysella take a breath of relief as the doors closed in front of her.
The shuttle made it back to the Orville and Kelly barged into Ed's office almost immediately after.
"So, what happened? Did you get anything outta her"? Ed was secretly startled as he threw something behind him in fear but thankfully he held back his yell.
"Yes". She placed the briefcase on his desk and opened it to reveal the gadgets she stole.
"Holy sh—"
She placed both her hands on the desk, exhaling before looking into Ed's eyes with affirmation. "Ed, she's lost it. She's dictating almost half the planet and we are to just, leave her like that? I mean, you saw the newsfeed, it's not humane at all"!
Ed looks to the side of him, his face perplexed, but understanding of Kelly's entreaty. He sighs as he's made up his mind, they can't fix what's beyond fixing.
"We can't, look, Kelly—"
"Ed—"
"Kelly listen—"
"Ed NO—"
"Kelly we can't—"
"This isn't up for debate—"
"You're GODDAMN right it isn't"!! Kelly was jolted back by the power of his voice.
"As Captain of this ship, I am giving the order that you do NOT return to that planet. We've retrieved the devices that were stolen, we have intel to tell Admiralty, so now we are obligated to leave. If they feel it's a problem, they'll send a team to fix it. We don't want to make matters worse"! He slowly simmers as he exhales and takes the briefcase from off his desk. He gives Kelly the apologetic eyes, hoping she wouldn't be too upset. Instead, she takes the nearby garbage bin and throws up in it.
"Kelly, look, I know you want to be the savior of the day but, we can't change what Lysella did. We were careless, in the decision to bring her aboard".
"Just to clarify—mmgh—that was your idea". She points a weak finger at him.
"I take full responsibility for it, but we have to go".
"Ed, those people down there, are going to die....". She warns, nearly falling over with the bucket in her arms.
Ed sighs. "I know...".
"And you don't want to at least try—"
"Kelly! No, that's it. This conversation is over".
"Yknow what, off the record, sometimes, you can be a real piece of—"
"Shit? Yeah, I know. Us Captains make shitty decisions sometimes. It's apart of my job.....Are you done"? He side eyed her as she met them with a threatening stare.
"Yeah, I'm done...".
"Okay, dismissed". He watches as she struggles to get up a little, trying to balance herself while she tries not to drop the bin. He sighs and gets up to help her. "Oh now you choose to help me". She scoffs.
"What"? He helps her up by her arms.
"Over the past couple months, I've noticed that you always seem to, want to fight me on every decision! Whether good or bad, there's always a sequence where we go head to head. It's aggravating".
He helps her to sickbay as she didn't seem well enough to go on her own in his eyes.
"So, what, you want me to choose your side every time, and ignore every sign that it could be a terrible idea? Kelly, sometimes I have to think about where importance lies—especially in situations like this one. We can't change, what's already happened on Sargus-4. We have to accept our mistake and just hope it doesn't happen again".
After Ed walked Kelly to Sickbay, he returned back to his office to compose the report and send it to Admiral Halsey. He wrote a full report, leaving nothing amiss. After typing it up, he reviewed it and pressed send. He waited for a few minutes to give him some time to read it. 15 minutes had passed and Admiral Halsey initiated a call in the format "Hologram". He gulped once in anxiety as he knows a holographic call spelled trouble. He reluctantly accepted the call. Suddenly, a very, pissed off admiral stood in front of him.
"Where's your First Officer"? Admiral Halsey asked through grit teeth.
"She's in sickbay". He answered with hesitation. Admiral shook his head. "She needs to be here".
"Admiral she's—"
"I don't care if she's on a gurney, in a wheelchair or on goddamn crutches, I need her here NOW"!
Ed holds up his communication device to his lips to contact Dr. Finn.
"Mercer to Dr. Finn, come in"?
There's no response. A brief silence before he tried again.
"Captain Mercer to Dr. Claire Finn, do you read me"?
Kelly intercepted. "Greyson to Mercer, come in"?
Ed sighs irritatedly at her voice. He and Admiral locked eyes. "Go ahead".
"We um, have a problem".
Ed's eyes grew wide as Halsey shook his head in disbelief as he chuckled to himself.
"Now.."?! Ed nearly whispers. Admiral walks to the communications unit on Ed's desk and pressed the button. "Admiral Halsey to Commander Greyson, what seems to be the problem"?
Ed's expression changed to surprise as he saw him interact with objects.
"Did they upgrade the holographic tech"?
Admiral Halsey curled his lips in absolute anger. His eyes not leaving Ed's face.
"Admiral?! You're here"?!
"I asked you what the problem is"!
Kelly felt his anger radiate through the comms. "Yessir! Sorry sir......So, Ty and Marcus are with me. They ran to sickbay in tears because they couldn't find their mother. I was also skeptical to where Dr. Finn had gone because she wasn't in sickbay when I arrived. So I used the ships database to locate her last location and it told me Hangar Bay. I checked the activity logs and my suspicions were true, she took a shuttle down to the planet. I believe Isaac is also with her. Looks like she tried to go incognito but Isaac had overridden her encryption key. He didn't stop her but, he made it easy to track her, and she also has a registered firearm on her. She took one from the armory before leaving".
Ed and Admiral Halsey listened closely. Halsey scoffs. "You, really don't have control over this ship, huh Captain? You and your First Officer seem to be, very, interpersonal, judging by your reports which in itself is a massive problem I unfortunately saw coming, your instinctual prowess leads you to disobey even the most simplest orders given to you by Admiralty, as I've discovered when I saw that Admiral Ozawa and many others had placed a few reprimands in your file, which Ive read to the letter and now with this latest report....I—I'm overall disgusted by the way this ship has been handled". He takes a seat on the guest chair. "Ed, Im starting to really regret my decision to letting you command an entire ship after reading all of this. Maybe it's just too big of a responsibility for you".
Ed burrowed his thumb nail into his palm in pent up anger.
"Ummmmm, I'm still here, just, FYI".
Both men sigh in frustration.
Claire and Isaac had made it down to the planet, landing on the Helipad. Claire was in the back, packing ammunition and stuffing the blaster inside her jacket she wore.
"Claire, I think you should reconsider this, as the consequences for your actions done on this planet, will ultimately lead to termination of your position and removal from aboard The Orville. Think also about your children. They have called the Orville home for quite a meaningful period of time". Isaac tried to control the situation with the best that he could but Claire was so fixated on revenge, she didn't nudge. She opened the shuttle door and kept moving, not even acknowledging Isaac and his words. "Claire"! Isaac called out to her. He watched her helplessly as she strutted her way to the entrance of the Sargus-4 Government building.
Meanwhile, Lysella was getting ready for her weekly broadcast. She had people moving about and making sure things were ready. This week's panel consisted of people who advocated for climate changes and how it effects the environment. They were adamant about having her input on the subject.
Lysella sat in her office in front of a mirror while she was on her phone, unaware of Claire standing silently in the background with the blaster behind her back. Lysella looked up, peering further into the mirror in front of her, finally noticing her.
"I'm glad you see me". She says ominously.
"Claire, you couldn't wait till I was on air to pull a stunt like this"?
"Why? I have you right where I want you". She charges the blaster as she slowly aims it to Lysella's head. She doesn't turn around to Claire. "Yeah, but it would've made a great headliner"! She opened her eyes wide with suspense as she put up her hands and stretched out her finger, shaking them vigorously.
Lysella places her hands down to her thighs with a slap, shaking her head and chuckling softly.
"Killing me isn't going to fix your friend, y'know. You'll eventually regret doing it. It'll haunt you. I promise you".
Claire smirks.
"And why would it? After all, it was you, who took my closest friend away from me. He'll never recover. The one thing you used to get yourself here, could have been his ticket out of this place, unscathed"!
She watched Lysella's facial expressions through the mirror, as did Lysella herself.
Lysella sighs. "What can I do to convince you that this is pointless"?
Three men come behind Dr. Finn and tackle her to the ground. She drops the blaster and it ends up by the feet of Lysella.
"Oh! There it is"! She picks it up and admires it's sleek, futuristic design. She is awe inspired. A staff member walks in, confused by the woman being tackled and the gun in Lysella's hand. He just ignores it and looks to her.
"Your Influence, you're on in 5".
She turns to the staff member. "No, I want to change the subject of my meeting. Stand her up and get her ready". She points to Claire as she looks up at her. The Staff pull her away into another room. Lysella keeps the blaster. Smirking at her reflection off of the surface.
"Have you gotten a hold of Isaac"?? Ed's face grew more worried as time went on. Admiral Halsey made matters even worse for him. He wouldn't end the hologram call and he would just sit there, waiting for Ed to find a solution to the problem.
"I've tried to reach him but he isn't responding". Kelly replies.
"Maybe—" he cuts eyes quickly, to the Admiral. "Maybe we should assemble a security detail to go and get them—"
"Do you think that's a wise decision, Captain"? Admiral Halsey interjects. "It's already bad enough two of our people are down on that planet. At the moment, this, Lysella, person is the only one that knows of The Orville's existence. Add more people to the equation, could have us be discovered by many others, even more rapidly".
"Look, I'm trying to find the best solution for this"! Ed explains angrily.
"Would you like my input"?
"No"! Ed yells. Admiral gives him a look. He retracts. "No, sir....".
"Grayson to Isaac, come in". Kelly doesn't move her wrist away from her mouth. She waited a bit before trying to reach him again. "Commander Greyson to Isaac, what the hell is going on"!
Talla walks up to Kelly as she stands in the Hangar with three of her best muscle behind her. "Kelly, I know you and Ed are against it but, if need be, we will go down there to get our people".
"I'm halfway to considering it..". She admits as she slaps both her hands to her side in exasperation.
"What, you're bored"? She jerks her chin at Talla
"I mean, not really. I just think we should go down there and get them. Makes no sense why the Captain won't give the order".
"Yeaaaah, things got a little more intense for Ed at the moment".
"How so"?
"Admiral's here and he's not letting him breathe".
Talla plastered a worried look. "You don't think he's gunna lose his chair, right"?
Kelly didn't make eye contact but she shook her head in disbelief of it happening. "I don't care about what Admiral Halsey says, Ed may have made some mistakes in the past, maybe even disobeyed some orders for a more humanitarian approach but, he's one of, if not, the best damn captain in the fleet. Overall, he's a good man....he was a good husband, and......". Kelly slowed down her words to analyze what she's been saying.
"And"? Talla held on to every word. Fascinated by their relationship.
"Aaaaand I think we should get back to work! Talla, log a tour! Go go"! She playfully shooed her and her men away.
She sighs as she rubs around her bump. Thinking about—
"Isaac to Orville, come in".
Kelly halts and puts her comms to her lips. "Isaac, we read you, this is Commander Greyson. What the hell is going on down there"?!
"It appears that Dr. Finn has been captured by Lysella's men, and Lysella is getting prepared to do her weekly broadcast to the newsfeed again. However, Dr. Finn seems to be apart of it". Isaac wore his human disguise and dressed as a staff member amongst the others.
"She's not going to—"
"I think she is, Commander, if you were going to say what I think you were going to say".
"If she does this, by order of the Union, she will be neutralized...".
"That is correct".
Kelly rushes to Ed's office. She comes in suddenly and is startled by Admiral Halsey's hologram, interacting with things.
"Did they upgrade the holographic tech"? She looks to Ed with perplexity.
"That's what I asked before but, y'know".
Admiral sighs in frustration.
Kelly walks completely into the room, standing adjacent to Ed. "Okay, anyways. I've gotten in touch with Isaac finally, and we, might have to do something completely against your morals".
"What..." Ed gave her a raised eyebrow of concern. "Lysella was able to overpower Claire and now she's got her as a prisoner, and she's planning on doing something with her. Mine and Isaac's best guess was that she was going to expose us. Which, would ultimately get her killed".
Ed stands up from his seat.
"Okay, until she does something even remotely stupid, we don't engage. Kelly, I want you to advise Talla to have her and her team ready to go on my command. We'll watch the broadcast from the bridge, just so we have an idea of when things might go sideways".
Ed and Kelly start for the door. Ed turns to look at Admiral Halsey with affirmation that he will do what needs to be done for his ship. Admiral catches the notion and softens up on him a bit. Even with all his anger towards Ed, he knows he has some capability for redemption.
"Keep me posted. Don't even think about making a single move till I know what's going on".
"Yes, sir. I will send you live messages along the way".
"Oh! And before I go: to answer your question about the Hologram, our scientists found a way to somehow link, the simulator room to the Hologram generator to pretty much recreate a physical-like body, into an actual space. Pretty neat".
Ed and Kelly share in Admiral's admiration for the upgrade with a face.
The broadcast was about to begin, as Lysella stood in front of the camera. She had full intent to have The Orville watching her tonight. She glanced over to the side to see many viewers flooding in on the screen in front. The camera started rolling and she was on.
"Hello, Sargans! Your Influencer here! Tonight's discussion has changed unexpectedly, but I assure you, it is just as interesting. When I was a little girl, my Kelvic father would often tell me of stories about times where he thought he saw the presence of extraterrestrial life, walking amongst our world. He told me that, they had the same features as we did".
She pointed to her nose. "A nose".
She pointed to her eyes. "Two eyes".
Sh pointed to her ears. "A perfect set of ears".
She walked around the room and the camera witnessed her every move. "I saw these creatures. They've even granted me access onto their ship. Showed me a world beyond and gave me the tools to help me better this world from a world of absolute chaos, to stability".
Ed and Kelly watch from the bridge. They watched with seriousness, hanging on to Lysella's every word.
"She has Claire, don't understand why she won't just, bring her out already".
Ed flicks his hand back. "Maybe waiting for a perfect time to do it"?
Ed radios Isaac. "Orville to Isaac, be ready to engage".
"Yes, Captain".
He then radios Talla. "Talla, when Isaac is in position, he's going to signal you. That's your mark".
"Roger that". Talla replies as she looks to her team. They were hanging from the rooftop, only a floor or two above the window to the huge room Lysella occupied.
"I've even captured a live alien today. She goes by the name, Claire Finn".
Claire emerges from the dark corner into the spotlight. Her face furious and her eyes looking deadly at Lysella.
"You know you're making a mistake, right"? She asks rhetorically.
"Mistakes are only made when you don't watch your every step". She mumbles to Claire almost silently, in her ear. Claire backs away a little.
"This, is living proof of my Father's belief. With her arrival to this planet, she brought with her, a weapon, capable of annihilating masses. This, is a gun, from another world"! She holds the gun by its handle and shows it to the camera.
"I've never seen anything like it. But, she brought it for me, as a gift, straight from what she'd call a Union starship named The Orville! Who sits right outside our planet! Use your Telescopes people! You will see it! And it's wonderful"!
Ed looks quickly to Bortus. "Bortus! Engage cloak"!
"Engaging cloak"!
The ship rapidly disappears from sight.
Kelly looks to Ed. "Do you think a regular telescope could be powerful enough to spot us"?
"No, but I don't want to take any chances right now. None. Especially with Admiralty up my ass at the moment".
She nods before turning her eyes to the screen again.
"Now, let's see what cool things this gun can do". She fidgets with it as she chuckles at herself. She hears a charge, figuring she found out how it works, she holds it with her finger to the trigger. She moves back from Claire, raising the gun up to her head. Claire moves back in fear. "Lysella—"
"I wonder, do you aliens feel fear? Are you invincible? Do you feel pain"? She asks with an eerie tone to her voice. She pulls back the trigger slowly.
Isaac reached for his weapon slowly.
"Isaac, Talla, Engage NOW"! Ed shouts through the comms.
Almost as if everything slowed down, Isaac took out his stun weapon, shooting it at Lysella. She drops the gun and falls to the floor. Talla and her team blast through the window as it was happening to take out the security detail. With the glass falling and high activity of gunshots and footsteps moving about, Isaac turns back into his Kaylon form and swoops in to grab Dr. Finn and Lysella and exits the same way Talla and company came in.
"ISAAC WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING"!! Claire screams through the pressure of the wind as they descend. He uses his jet pack on his back to fly back up to the Helipad to make their escape back to The Orville.
"Isaac to Orville, we are making our ascent into Space. Please be on standby". Isaac sits a passed out Lysella and a pissed off Claire into a seat and starts for the navigation array. He shuts the door and they get moving.
Talla and her crew looked around for any survivors of the attack. She made sure nothing could be salvaged from this room. Nothing and no one.
"Talla to Orville, we're done here. Has Isaac and the others returned yet"?
Kelly and Ed were on their way to the Hangar to retrieve them. "From the looks of it, yes. You guys can head back now. Good work. Greyson out".
Lysella was in the brig, lying down and crying on the seat with her back facing the opening to her cell. They were in Earth's orbit, waiting for Admiral Halsey to confront her and tell her of her fate. She hears the doors open and quickly sits up to find Ed, Kelly and Admiral standing before her.
"Lysella, is it"? Halsey squints at her.
"Yes..". Her face looked worried. She looked around the room at all the faces, looking back at her with no emotion at all.
"What are you going to do to me"? Her voice cracks a little.
He lets down the shield and looks her directly in the eyes.
"Under Union law, any persons who are entrusted to withhold any information of our activities amongst the stars, reveals any evidence of our existence to those who were not authorized by a Union Captain, Commander or Admiral, are subjected to punishment by death penalty".
"Please, please don't kill me, please"! She begs. She gets on her knees, and cries.
"Captain, please, don't do this! I can explain everything! Anything you want to know I can—"
"I think the reports do more than enough of explaining". Halsey interrupts.
She sniffles as she glanced her puffy eyes at Halsey. Four other Admirals enter the room.
"Ed, you have to do this". He hands him the gun.
"Since when do we do it like this? Shouldn't she stand trial"?
Admiral Halsey lifts his head. "In all honesty Captain, she should've been neutralized the moment she laid eyes on our people. But she was let go, with information that could help her tremendously in her effort to basically overthrow her own government, when she boarded your ship. Three things that shouldn't have happened and yet, it did. I see it as long overdue".
"What about Sargus-4, what's going to happen to them"?
"They'll be sanctioned, but she has to be neutralized in order for us to move forward".
Ed turns his dreadful eyes to meet Lysella's. He sighs in defeat, and hands the gun back to Admiral Halsey.
"I can't do this..". Ed confesses.
"Well, you have to".
"But this isn't how we go about this! We have them stand trial, we determine whether the information that they hold is valuable enough to be a problem or not, and we base their punishment from that! You're telling me to outright slaughter someone"!
"Ed, if you don't do this, you might as well kiss your chair goodbye. Don't be stupid! It's only one life, for your entire career. It shouldn't be hard". He hands him back the gun. "Neutralize her, that's an order"! Admiral Halsey leaves the room.
"Ed....". Kelly confronts him.
"What the hell do you want me to do, lose my job"?! Ed reasons.
"But you're a good man, Ed. You know what—"
She's pulled back by Admiral Ozawa.
"Commander Greyson, it's not your place or responsibility to make a decision for your Captain. Once he is given an order from Admiralty, he is to carry out that order. You are not to perpetuate, coerce or manipulate him in any way. Stand down". Ozawa demands.
"Even if it's dead wrong"?! Kelly scoffs.
"Stand. Down. THAT is an order". Ozawa commands through grit teeth.
Ed sighs. Lysella stays on her knees, helplessly waiting for Ed, who held the gun up to her, to pull the trigger. Suddenly, she is thrown into convulsion all on her own. Ed and Kelly circle her and radio Dr. Finn. She rushes in a couple minutes later to see Lysella dazed out and Ed and Kelly in shock. Claire looked over her to try and find the problem.
"Turn her on her back". Ed complies. Claire turns back to Ozawa.
"It looks like she had a seizure. I'll go ahead and—"
"What the hell"! Kelly shouts. Claire turns back to Ed and Kelly who were slowly moving to another side of the room, grossed out by subtle movements underneath Lysella's skin.
"Claire, what's going on"? Kelly asks.
"I don't know, it looks like there's something......"
She digs in her pouch quickly and takes out a scalpel. Everyone around her jump up at her in confusion.
"Everyone calm down! She's not dead and this wound will not kill her". Claire explained with eyes of silent concern. She bends down and angles the scalpel to make sure she doesn't damage the spinal cord and makes a small incision. She lifts the skin a little to push a finger underneath to grab the little thing moving around. She finally grabs it and pulls it slowly from the back of her neck. To her surprise, it resists a little, as if it was holding onto something.
"What the hell kind of parasite is this"?! Claire looks a little closer.
"It looks like, from the placement of this thing, it was connecting itself to her central nervous system.....If I pull this and it ends up ripping a piece off, she will have permanently damaged motor functionality".
"That's bad, right"? Ed asks nervously.
"Captain, she could, quite possibly, become a vegetable...".
Claire looked down at her and curled her lips in some, thinking about all that she did before this and realizing that she had the means to kill her, or disable her in any way. But then she felt that she probably wouldn't gain any self satisfaction from doing so. Her mind simmered. She thought of her only as a patient that needed her help. She motions Kelly and Ed to get Lysella up off the floor so that she could be carried to sickbay. Ed stays behind and let's Kelly and Claire do the rest. He looks to Ozawa.
"What now"?
She shrugs. "Well, albeit not by your hand, you managed to do your job. Should be thankful to whoever it is that spared you your position today".
"But she's not actually—"
"Once Claire removes that thing, she's as good as dead. I'll let Admiralty know of what happened. I'll tell them she has been neutralized and to start the process for sanctioning Sargus-4. Hopefully that planet can finally flourish without some sort of crazed governmental systems in place".
Ed nods in mild satisfaction. He crossed his fingers and pushes his two thumbs together in concern.
"Is this, going to be the new way we go about things? Randomly executing people without said person standing trial? I honestly don't want to know what else goes on but, this, is the first sign of corruption within our own government, don't you think"?
"We are only trying to promote efficiency within the process of our judicial system". Admiral Ozawa states confidently.
"Efficiency? Or immorality....I'm sorry but I'm finding it hard to see what's so efficient, about robbing someone of their own life prematurely. If someone rumored that a certain person on a certain undeveloped planet, found out about us and was going around, spreading the information, devoid of any evidence of said occurrence, would you hunt down that person and kill them? Even though it was just speculation that they did these things"?
Ozawa chuckled lightly. Ed was taken back by her casual demeanor about his concerns. "Ed, stop worrying about things you can't control. Worry about your ship and her crew, and best of all, yourself. Get some rest, we'll discuss everything tomorrow morning". She pats Ed on the shoulder and smiles before exiting the room with the others.
"Wait"! Ed calls out. Ozawa stops in her tracks and turns around to him.
"I want you to give Admiral Halsey a message. I want you to tell him because it will sound more, honest, coming from one Admiral to another".
"Okay, I'm listening".
Claire and Isaac are preoccupied in sickbay with Lysella, who hasn't moved since the extraction of the parasite. Kelly watches, overviewing the progress they were making.
"I was able to extract the parasite but, she's become gravely weak after that. For some reason, this thing was overloading her nervous system with extreme levels of dopamine and norepinephrine".
Kelly nods. "I've read articles from waaaay back in the day that covered medications that stimulated those neuromodulators to an extreme level as well, and was heavily abused by those that took it. But these were, drugs. How could an otherworldly thing such as that". She pointed to the parasite wiggling around in a ampule. "Do something that was manufactured by human beings"?
"The parasite seems to be a manufactured product all on its own. This bug acts as a neurotransmitter and stimulates the dopamine and norepinephrine as a command function, without the need for medical compounds to continue its work. It was an installation performed by an unknown extraterrestrial life form. I am trying to extract data on them now". Isaac explains as he combs through data streams from the Union's collective.
"So she got in contact with other species besides humans"?! Kelly moved her eyes to Lysella. "What was she really trying to do"?
Isaac turns around with the information he searched for. They both look to him, ready to understand what he found.
"The manufacturers of this parasite, or enhancement as they believe it to be, are a very sophisticated alien species known as Rulithians. Interestingly so, they are heavily mentioned in the Union database".
Kelly glances at Lysella's body and plasters on a confused face, trying to make sense of what it was she was actually doing with the knowledge about these aliens.
"So, what, she was trying to get a fix of some kind"?
Claire lightly pushed Isaac to the side to skin through the information.
"These things are considered enhancements within our systems, as it doesn't refer to them anywhere as "parasite". On their planet, they install them within their own people to further advance their environment. Like, building structures, advancing education and other things like that. It's as if these people are all about efficiency, rather than taking the time necessary to advance".
Kelly slowly shakes her head in disgust. "So they cut corners to get ahead. Still doesn't explain Lysella having that enhancement installed".
"Well, it does, actually. This information is within our military database, which she had access to because of her devices she stole from us. We must've had contact with the Rulithians in some way. From what it says here, their planet is rich with Dysonium Ore, so we must trade with them often".
"Still doesn't explain—"
"No, look, hear me out; They trade with us. I'm sure Dysonium wasn't the only thing we traded with them for..".
"Okay, fair point, however, Lysella isn't a Union official".
"Clearly she had help of some kind. I wonder who'd be willing to put their job on the line for her"? Claire raises a brow as she turns to Lysella who hasn't said a word.
Kelly shrugs. "I don't know but, whoever they are, better not try to pull another stunt like that again".
"I'd wager it was Michael".
Kelly's eyes lit up as she pointed a agreeable finger at her.
Ed sat in his quarters, silently looking at pictures of Earth on his tablet as he let out a sigh. He suddenly began receiving a video chat request from a private frequency. He was slightly startled by it, but when he realized who it was, he exhaled with a smile. He accepted and Anaya appeared on his screen. She sat in her bedroom, the same old room she had as a child. She smiled at the sight of her Father's face while she held the locket to her heart.
"Hi". She says lightly.
He smiles back. "Hi". He responds.
"How are you"? She peers into the screen a little, her smile fades as she sees Ed's lips form a frown.
"Dad? What's wrong"? Her genuinely concerned voice, and her calling him "Dad" fluttered his heart with compassion. "I.....I've been going through a lot since we've last spoken and...I just wanted to say I'm so, so sorry for how I treated you. All I even wanted you to know, was that I loved you so, very much. You and your mother, even though if she were here, she'd pretend to be disgusted by it. You mean the world to me and I wish, that I could've—"
She smiled warmly. "Dad, it's okay. You don't have to apologize for anything. I understand that we are, from totally different worlds and that's neither of our faults. We just have to live with that fact. But just know that I love you too. Even though our two peoples can't find peace amongst each other, you and I represent a beautiful harmony that transcends it all".
Ed smiles a tearful smile and she receives it with the same emotion. She throws a kiss to him and he catches it and pins it to his heart. Suddenly a loud, and unpleasant knock sounds on her door. She is startled and afraid. She looks to the door then to her Father. Ed's face turns serious as he sits up. "Anaya, what's happening"?!
The camera shakes as she moves from her bed to another side of the room. The violent banging continues. "Dad—"
"Anaya! Tell me what's going on, now! Don't you dare hang up on me! Anaya—"
"Dad, I love you. Talk to you soon. Bye"!
"Ana—"!
She quickly ends the call. He holds in his anger a bit, only to release it by throwing the tablet to the side of him. He hears as it hits the floor violently. Ed runs his hands down his face as he sighs before looking out into the deep reaches of space. He wish he could blast off to Krill right now to bring Anaya home.
A request to come into his quarters was initiated. "Who is it"? He asks with a tinge of frustration.
"It's Kelly".
"Come in". He sighs. She walks up the spiral stairs slowly.
"You look like shit". She jokes, leaning on the railing some.
"I feel like shit". He replies with a chuckle. "Seriously Kelly, what's with the weight gain and constant throwing up? I'm starting to think you're—"
"Pregnant"?
His lips froze mid sentence.
"Um, well, no. I was going to say that you should not be experiencing side effects from that shot Claire gave us, anymore".
Kelly bit her lip in embarrassment. "But I was going to question if you're pregnant or not.....are you"? Ed's face grew scared.
"It's Cassis's"! She nervously responded.
"Like hell it is! He's been off this ship for quite a number of years now "!
"So what! I saw him recently"!
"Kelly"!
"It's true! I did"!
"Kelly...".
"Ugh....fine. We're usually very careful about how we have unprotected sex. God, it's always when you're not ready...".
She walks defeatedly to the bed and lies down next to Ed.
"You always take the morning after pill when we do"!
"Well!.......I forgot".
"Kelly....."! He facepalms. "How far along are you"? He turns his face in his hands to look down at her. She matches his gaze. "3 months".
"God....".
"You weren't going to ask if I get an abortion were you"?!
"NO! I would never tell you to do that! I just....one child who's half Krill is one problem, but now, I've gotten my First Officer, who is almost considered my subordinate, pregnant. Two children who really, aren't supposed to exist due to the circumstances in which they were conceived and with whom"! He lies down with his back facing Kelly. She places her hand on his forearm and leans in closer. He feels her bump touch his back and he cringes before relaxing his face in realization.
"Well, actually. I don't really have to worry about it too much, because I've already put in my resignation to Admiral Halsey. I'm just going to enjoy the time I have left on this bed before the ship's reinstated and someone else will occupy it". He smiles gently as he snuggles more into the pillow.
Silence...
"WHAT"?! Kelly turns Ed around violently and plops herself on top of him.
"Kelly, as much as I'd love to end this chapter with us having sex again, I kinda don't want to provoke the possibility of you maybe having twins or something. My god..". He's frightened by the idea.
"Ed, please don't tell me you're giving up being Captain of The Orville".
"Yes, I am opening my chair for a better, well suited person to Captain this ship. With what happened with Lysella and how our Judicial branch is being managed, and with everything going on with Krill and Kaylon being our prime enemies, meanwhile Anaya is getting caught in the crossfire and I can't do anything about it and with, all of the mistakes I've made... I've never, ever, seen Admiral Halsey look at me and talk to me the way he did when Claire was down on Sargus-4. I think I'm getting too old to manage this entire ship all on my own. I've been doing this for, years, now, and I'm tired".
"Ed....". She grips his shirt as she looks down at him helplessly. Both physically and mentally.
"Kelly, just lay here with me".
She shakes her head.
"You are too goddamn good at your job to just give it up like that. I'm sure Admiral Halsey will not pass this. Despite that incident, I'm sure he's beyond forgiven you by now".
"Maybe. But I'm doing this because I need to find some sort of peace. Being stressed out more than being happy, and having to make life or death decisions everyday, can take a massive toll on you. I know you understand, because you're by my side through all of it".
Kelly gets off of Ed and sits at the end of the bed.
"Ed, you can take a sabbatical. Bortus and I can command this ship while you do. You can do, whatever you want but you can't, for the love of GOD, leave this ship to be reinstated. I don't want anyone else to run this ship, and they won't run it the way you do".
She looks back at him as he stares at her. Both with dreaded eyes. Kelly looks as if she's about to cry.
"Ed....I love you....and I need you here with me. We need you".
He stares into her eyes.
"Sara...".
"What"?
"Storms are brewin' in your eyes..".
"Ed"! She slaps his leg. "Ow! What"!
"It's not time to start busting out into a musical"!
"No, it's not but, that song, encapsulates what's going on right now at this very moment".
"No, because you aren't leaving".
He gets up from the bed, taking the tablet and walking downstairs, leaving Kelly to sulk at the end of the bed.
"Play Sara by Jefferson Starship, medium volume, living room only".
The song begins to play as he goes to the synthesizer and requests a bottle of wine. He lightly sings along while he downs it. Kelly soon goes downstairs to look at him with folded arms and a angry stare to go with it. He goes to her with his hand out to dance with him. She slaps it away, putting up a stern finger. "If Admiral approves of your resignation, and this ship is reinstated, I will never forgive you".
"It's okay, who knows, yknow! The new Captain could be your type! Maybe you'll eventually forget I was ever Captain in the first place".
"What"?!
"You heard me".
"Yeah, I did. I'm trying to understand where that came from"!
He continues to drink from the bottle.
"It came from a bitter place". He admits.
"I bet it did. For you to even make that comment, while I sit, pregnant and begging you not to leave. You can be a real jerk sometimes, Ed". She storms out of the room, leaving Ed to the song and his wine bottle that's halfway empty. He slumps on his couch, enthralled by his own sadness.
The next morning, Ed wakes from his drunken sleep, laid out on the couch and looking at the ceiling. The room was silent and all he could hear was the humming of The Orville's engines. A sound that he would miss, when he finally leaves. A video call was ringing from his tablet. He looked at the caller and quickly straightened up. He took a few looks in the mirror, straightening up his hair, changing his shirt and finally sitting down to accept the call.
"Good Morning, Captain". Admiral Halsey greets with a smile. Ed smiles back.
"Admiral".
"I received your verbal resignation from Admiral Ozawa last night. I was, to say the least, shocked, by your decision to reinstate The Orville with a new Captain. It was definitely a good jab, I could say".
"Yes, and you understand why I am resigning, I'm hoping".
Halsey shakes his head. "No, Im sorry, I don't".
"I mean, you said it yourself. You don't like the way this ship is being handled and I've come to the conclusion of agreeing with you".
"Ed....". Admiral sighs. "If this is what you really, truly want, and you're not trying to beat yourself down, take a shuttle down to Earth, and we'll discuss it. I can make some interview arrangements for the reinstatement, you can conduct them as I know, you are worthy of doing so and I'm sure, you'd like your ship to be handed off to someone who you could potentially trust to take good care of it".
"Thank you, Admiral".
Halsey ends the call.
A few hours later and Ed is in the waiting area just outside Halsey's door. He looks out the window to the right of him, watching the sunlit buildings and seeing shuttles go by. It was a beautiful day on Earth. He comes out to greet Ed with a handshake and ushers him in. They both take their respective seats.
"So, you are serious about this".
"Yes, I am".
Halsey sighs as he pulls up Ed's file on the computer.
"Okay...let's see...uhhhh, ah! Here it is! Aided in and even conducted the pact between Union and Krill. You have, aided in the push back of the Kaylon, saved the entire, Universe from collapsing due to an anomalous worm hole. Despite the Moclans being a, very, hard species to negotiate with, you were able to manage every conflict with the upmost responsibility that very few, Captains could ever do. Ed, I can count on one hand, how many Captains could handle their rigid customs and demanding nature".
Ed sneaks a faint smile.
"Even though you have reprimands on your record, and let's face it, who doesn't, they don't outshine your accolades, not even a little. Admiralty has looked to The Orville for many pressing and very important missions that we believe only you, Ed, could carry out with success".
"So you're denying my resignation".
"I'm not denying it, I'm only asking you to reconsider it. I honestly, looking at the interviewees, I can't see any of them fitting your standards".
He flicks the screen to Ed to look at the candidates. He reviews each one carefully. "Oh god..". He flicks it back.
"Yeah, I knew you'd say that".
"Admiral—"
"Ed, take a sabbatical. If you need a month or two, fine, I'll have Kelly and Bortus take over as they are second in command to you. They can handle it".
"I know they can but, I need a longer break than that".
"No, you just need a break. But once you come back, I'm appointing you to a new position".
"Which is"?
"You will no longer be Captain Mercer, but Captain Admiral Mercer".
Ed's eyes lit up. "Is that a new position or is this just made up"?
"It's fairly new, yes, and you are the first to be appointed. I had your uniform changed in the database before I got the word from Ozawa. Which was why I was taken aback so heavily".
"We usually don't have a segue between Captain and Admiral. The Captain being appointed to Admiral is promoted and immediately given a spot after careful review". Ed states, completely ignoring that it's a new position.
"Yes, that's why I said it's new". Admiral chuckles.
"Oh! Right...yeah".
"So, go ahead and rest for a while. When you come back, we'll debrief you on your new position as a part of Admiralty. Your uniform should be ready, as well. I'll have someone deliver it".
Admiral Halsey gets up and reaches his hand out to Ed.
"We don't want to lose you, Ed. You're too good at what you do. There's honestly no Captain out there that could ever compare themselves to you".
"As fattening as those words are, I appreciate the gesture".
"It's the God honest truth". Ed shakes his hand. "Thank you, Admiral".
"No, thank YOU, Admiral".
Ed secretly couldn't get enough of that.
He walked confidently to his shuttle. When he opened the door and walked up to the navigation array, he sat down and to his surprise, a royal purple colored uniform sat right in the passenger seat. He picked it up with a smile before taking off his blue jacket and replacing it with his newly purple one. With a sigh of relief and joy, he ascended into Space.