Planetary Union Headquarters stood in the middle of New York City. At the top of the spire, balconies overlooked a beautiful, green cityscape.
In the bowels of the lower basement was a single cell with a forcefield in place. Telaya sat in the cell. Across from her sat her lawyer. He was as red as he was arrogant.
The Calivon lawyer had approached Telaya asking to represent her in the trial. He had contacted them the moment he heard of her case. Since no one from Krill was willing to take the case, Telaya was not left with many options. The Union had offered her a counselor, but how could she ever expect a Union counselor to have her best interests in mind?
This Calivon, Siddeth Garant, seemed like a capable attorney. He had already used Telaya’s remaining connections in the government to get a warrant for Captain Mercer for kidnapping their child. She knew it would never be honored. Even if Krill made peace with the Union enough to allow extradition, no legal authority would want the child on Krill. She would be terminated upon arrival.
“Now by counter-suing for custody of the child,” Garant explained, “we’re showing you as the epitome of motherly love, incapable of being the monster the Union claims you to be.”
“I do not understand what bearing that will have on my case,” Telaya said plainly.
“Humans are sentimental,” he said condescendingly, “if they think you love your child, they will see you in a kinder light. Humans like to think that everyone is reformable. ”
“Do you really think you can win my case?” Telaya asked with a mixture of anger and angst.
“I doubt this Union is even capable of creating a case against you.” Garant said soothingly, “Did you build the weapon?”
“No,“ Telaya said.
“Did you personally fire the weapon?” Garant asked
“No,” Telaya said.
“So what exactly do they have on you? You didn’t build the weapon. You didn’t steal it. It wasn’t on your planet, or on a base belonging to your empire. Darling, they have nothing on you.“ he said reassuringly.
“I tried to kill the Union President,” Telaya said plainly.
The Claivon looked offended. “You defended yourself against an alien invader in your home,” he said lovingly.
“What do you want?” Telaya asked bluntly.
“I just want you and your child to be safe and together.” He said “Mother and child.”
“I don’t know why you insisted on bringing Anaya into all of this,” Telaya complained. “I can not have the child with me when I return to rule Krill. She will not be safe there.”
“Who says she has to go back to Krill? I know a lovely place on Calivon that would welcome her,” Garant explained. “ An exclusive private school where she will be surrounded by others who are unique like her. Her every need will be taken care of, and if you return to Krill, you need never worry about her again. I can assure you, she will be safe forever. You can come to see her whenever you like. You can even stay with her if you don’t return to Krill.” Garant explained.
“You promise she will be well cared for?” Telaya said.
“They will take care of her, and you can go back to being the ruler of Krill, totally vindicated.” Garant slyly said.
Telaya liked the sound of that. If this Calivon could win her case, she could be back to ruling Krill soon.
“Kelly, can I see you in my office,” Ed said into his communicator.
“On my way.” Kelly’s voice came over the com.
Ed was downing his second scotch of the day. It probably wasn’t good that it was only 10 a.m. He was more terrified than he had ever been.
He had once infiltrated a Krill ship and watched them ceremoniously chop up a human head. He had gone into the void of space and watched his crew members morph into giant spider aliens. He had fought wars against the Kaylons, the Moclans, and the Krill. But nothing he had ever done in his entire life and career had ever scared him as much as losing custody of his daughter to her own mother.
Kelly had barely entered the room when Ed laid it out.
“I need you to take over.” He said abruptly.
“Ok,” Kelly said a little confused. “What’s going on?”
“She’s trying to take Anaya from me,” Ed said angrily.
Kelly stood confused for a moment “Telaya?” she asked.
“Yes, Telaya. You were right. I should have never let her go. Kelly. I should have thrown her in the brig and thrown away the damn key.” Ed ranted pacing around the room.
Kelly wasn’t surprised to see him this angry. He loved Anaya. That little girl had become his entire world in a short amount of time. Kelly had always thought Ed would make a good father. Turns out she was right.
“You know she has Krill pressing charges against me for kidnapping? Kidnapping!” Ed paced the room.
“That’s crazy,” Kelly said, “You were just saving her from the people who were trying to kill her.”
“The Admiral said not to worry about it because we don’t have an extradition treaty with them. But if we ever do, evidently I could be in trouble. Just for getting my daughter.”
He poured another drink.
“I need you to handle the ship. We’ll be here at Earth for a while. Evidently, Telaya’s lawyer, who is a Calivon, as if it can’t get crazier… he wants to call half the crew as witnesses in Telaya’s defense.”
“In her defense?” Kelly asked.
“I know it’s crazy right?” Ed quit his pacing and plopped onto a chair.
“Well, I can totally take over here. With us staying at home for a bit I’m sure there will be a big line of requests for shore leave. “ Kelly said. “Might be a good time to do some upgrades. How long do they think we will be here?”
“However long the trial takes.” he said finishing his third drink, “The Union has assigned me a lawyer for the custody case.”
“I can’t believe they would give her custody,” Kelly said.
“Under Union law, as the mother of the child, she would normally receive visitation even in prison.” Ed explained, “But I would think that since she basically abandoned the kid to her caretaker and tried to kill an entire species she might be an unfit mother!”
“You would think.” Kelly agreed, “Don’t worry about the ship. I got this. You go deal with your daughter.”
Ed sank further into the chair. “How do I tell her? How do I explain to her that a court will decide if she gets to stay with me or if she has to go live with a woman she has never met?”
Kelly sighed. She didn’t have an answer for him.
Anaya was in the simulator playing the shooting game with Topa. Topa had increased her score to 92% Proficiency. Anaya was not that good, but she had raised her proficiency from 15% to 19% in just a week. Topa said he was advancing respectably. Whatever that meant. Anaya felt like she was doing better. She liked to spend time with Topa. They were about the same age, though Topa was much more mature. Dr. Finn said that was because Moclans grow up much faster than humans or Krill. Though Anaya was growing up faster than a human. Dr. Finn believed that one day she might outgrow Ty.
An arch appeared behind them. Captain Ed Mercer stepped into the simulation.
“Daddy!” Anaya said excitedly.
“Captain Mercer,” Topa said as she nodded in his direction.
“Do you want to play with us?” Anaya asked.
“You know what,” Ed said, “I think I do. Computer add third player Ed.” He picked up a pulse pistol and started shooting at the flying targets. He hadn’t done pulse pistol practice in a while.
He shot at the targets and was doing almost as good as Topa.
“Remember when I said that someday we might go to Earth and you might get to see the planet I grew up on?” Ed asked Anaya as they shot at the discs.
“Are we really?” Anaya excitedly asked.
“Yes, we are.” Ed said, “But there is more.” He stopped shooting, got down on one knee, and looked her in the eye. “Your mother wants to see you.”
“ My mother is on earth?” Anaya asked. “I thought she was Krill.”
“She is Krill, “ Ed tried explain, “She’s just being held on earth before her trial and our custody hearing.”
“Custody hearing?” Anaya asked. She looked worried.
“Yes,” Ed explained, “Your mom has decided that she might want you with her, so she is suing me for custody of you.”
“So I would live with her in prison?” Anaya asked.
“No, but we would live nearby.” Ed said “And we wouldn’t live on The Orville anymore.”
“But I would still live with you?” Anaya asked getting scared.
“If your mom stays in prison,” Ed explained. He hesitated to tell her the rest. “There is a chance they could let her out and then she might want you to live with her on Krill.”
Anaya was quiet. She didn’t want to go back to Krill. It was where Dalila died. And Herron. And the people were all screaming. She liked it on The Orville. There were lots of nice people and she got to spend time with her dad and Topa and her new friend Grandine.
“I don’t know if I want to go back to Krill,” Anaya said quietly.
The Orville was parked in orbit of the planet Earth.
Ed was in his quarters with Anaya, his parents were coming to meet their grandchild. Anaya played with the doll Gordon had made for her, it was a half-human, half-Krill doll that looked like a younger doll version of Anaya. Anaya had named her Toto after the dog in The Wizard of Oz. Ed had the computer create a special version of it printed in Krill for her. She loved it.
His comm beeped. “Captain,” it was Dr. Finn. “Can you please bring Anaya to sickbay?”
“Right now? We were waiting for my parents to show up. Can it wait?” he asked.
“I’m afraid not.” Dr. Finn said. “I’m afraid I need you both here as quickly as possible.”
In sickbay, there was a new person that Anaya hadn’t seen before. A young lady wearing a green and gray uniform. She was talking to Dr. Finn. Daddy looked really upset.
“Now Ed, this is the normal procedure,” Dr. Finn explained. “She is just going to do a basic interview and visitation. It’s the same as it would be in any child custody situation. “
“I don’t mind the interview.” Ed said, “But I am concerned about the idea of a total stranger taking my daughter to meet her psychopath mother.”
“Captain, we feel that talking bad about the other parent,” the woman said. ”can often undermine their authority.”
“I don’t want her to have any authority over my child!” Ed said, ”She abandoned her and left her in a dangerous situation where she was almost killed.”
“Captain Mercer, trust the system.” the woman said “This won’t take long. Please just let me do my job and I will have Anaya back before you know it.”
Dr. Finn turned to Anaya, “Honey I need you to come into my office for a few minutes. It won’t take long.”
“Is this another therapy session?” Anaya asked.
“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Dr. Finn said, impressed with the child’s ability to read the situation.
They disappeared into Dr. Finn’s office. Ed sat outside in the sick bay and hopelessly watched through the window.
He buzzed his comm, ”Talla, get me, Admiral Halsey.”
Inside Dr. Finn’s office, Anaya was meeting a new friend.
“Anaya, this is Commander Alan.” Dr Finn said. “She wants to ask you a few questions. You can be completely honest with her. I’ll be right outside.”
Dr. Finn left.
Anaya was a little surprised that Dr. Finn left.
“It’s ok Anaya,” Commander Alan said. “I just want to ask you some questions. Has anyone hurt you?”
“No,” she said.
“Are you sure? No one has hurt you or your friends?”
“They killed Dalia and Herron.” Anaya said.
“Who?” Alan asked.
“The people on Krill. They shot Dalila in the market.” Anaya said sadly, “She died right in front of me. Then Herron at the cabin. That’s when Daddy came and got me.”
“Are you comfortable with your father?” She asked Anaya.
“Yes. “ Anaya said, perking up a bit, ”he takes care of me. He lets me eat Chocolate Ice cream.”
“Do you feel safe with your father?” she asked
“Yes.” Anaya replied, “Daddy says that the Orville is very safe and we have Talla to take care of any bad guys who show up.”
“What about friends on the ship?” she asked. “I know you haven’t been here long but have you made any friends?”
“Lots of friends,” Anaya said, getting more excited. “ Ty, Marcus, Topa, Mac and Norm, oh and my new friend Grandine. We went to Kaylon and ate pancakes together.”
“And what about your mother?” she asked.
“I’ve never met my mother.” Anaya said, “Dalila and Daddy both said she sent me away to protect me. Herron said that Daddy would take care of me now and then he was killed. So now it’s just me and Daddy. And sometimes Kelly.”
“Would you like to meet your mother?” Commander Alan asked, “She is eager to see you.”
“I guess?” Anaya said, uncertainly.
Anaya was excited to be riding in a shuttle to Earth. Her daddy was letting her sit in the front seat as they entered the atmosphere. Dr. Finn and Commander Alan sat in the back. There was a large ocean beneath them.
“Is that the Pasi-cific Ocean?” she asked.
“No honey, that one is the Atlantic Ocean,” Ed explained, “ but we can fly over the Pacific on the way back.”
He was glad to be on the trip. Anaya’s first time seeing Earth. This wasn’t the way he had planned it, but it was the way it was going. Ed was trying to make the best of it.
They flew down the coastline right past his old stomping grounds in Massachusetts. “See way down there that little strip of land?”
“Yes,” Anaya said.
“That’s Plum Island, my father used to take me there when I was a kid,” Ed explained.
“Can we go?” Anaya begged, “ Please?”
“We will go eventually,” Ed said, “if not on this trip then definitely on the next. Your grandfather will want to come along.”
Anaya smiled that beautiful smile at her father. There was love in that smile. Ed might not have noticed it, but Commander Alan did.
“There’s a tiny bird called the Piping Plover that lives there.“ Ed continued.
“Is that like a duck?” Anaya asked.
“A duck?” Ed was surprised she had heard of a duck. “No, it’s much smaller. Your grandfather is a bit of a bird watcher.”
“What does he watch them do?” Anaya asked.
“Just whatever they are doing. Building nests, pecking at the ground, flying away from him.” Ed said, plotting their descent into New York City.
On the bridge, the crew was buzzing with people talking about going home. Kelly sat in the captain’s chair looking over the crew manifest and leave requests.
Grandine figured they hadn’t been home in a while. She was home just a few weeks ago. Right before she came on board.
“Are you headed home Lieutenant?” She asked Malloy as she started the standby sequence for the navigational array.
“No way,” he responded. Putting the helm into standby mode. “I’m actually hoping my family doesn’t figure out I’m in orbit.”
“Why?” Grandine asked.
“My mom,” he said.
“Not a good relationship huh?” Grandine asked.
“Oh no, “ Gordon explained, “my relationship with mom is ok. It’s just my brother and the fact that my mom keeps bugging me to get him a job on The Orville.”
“Oh, so you two can be together?” Grandine asked.
“No. Gordon said, disgusted, “Because he doesn’t do anything. He just sits around all day doing nothing.”
“What do you mean he doesn’t do anything,” Grandine asked.
“He doesn’t do anything. He just sits around all day doing nothing. What about you?” Gordon asked. “You going home to see your kids? Grandkids?”
“Nah,” Grandine said. “I just saw them all a few weeks ago. Showing up now would just be weird. I was thinking about spending a couple of days in Las Vegas.“
“What about you commander?” Gordon asked Kelly.
“I might pop in to visit my mom before we leave,” she responded.
“Well, we are already getting a list of people who want to leave,” Talla said.
“Make sure everyone knows they’ll have to report to the court if they are called to testify,” Kelly replied.
There was a beep on the console. “Commander, we are getting a request to come on board.” Talla said, “It’s the Captain’s parents.”
“Great,” Kelly said. ”Inform the Captain and I will meet their shuttle in shuttle bay 2. You might want to set them up with quarters. I don’t know how long they will be here.”
Kelly entered the shuttle bay just as the Mercers were disembarking from their shuttle.
“Mr. and Mrs. Mercer, welcome aboard the Orville” Kelly said as graciously as she should could. “I’m sorry Ed is not here to greet you right now, he’s had to make a quick visit to Earth.”
Jeanie Mercer didn’t mince words, “That’s ok, we’re not here to see him. Where’s our granddaughter?”
Anaya sat in a chair on the other side of the security field. She looked healthy. There was a Union officer Telaya had never seen before escorting her. Ed was nowhere to be seen. The child remained silent, just staring at her.
“You look well,” Telaya said. “I am glad to see you have been taken care of.”
Anaya immediately recognized her.
“You’re the lady from the broadcast.” she said, “The one Herron said started the war.”
“Oh is that what Herron told you?” Teleya angrily snapped. “Well, he is wrong. I was defending our way of life.“
From behind Anaya, a voice spoke out of the darkness. “I believe what my client is trying to say is that any action she might have taken against any members of the Union was purely in self-defense and the defense of her family.”
Commander Alan looked at the little red man with a bulbous head. “Sir, we are not here to litigate Telaya’s crimes. This is just a supervised visitation and assessment for custodial determination.”
“And if my client is found innocent, will you return her daughter to her?” The red man asked.
“Perhaps. But even if she is found to be guilty she can still receive visitation from the child as long as the safety of the child isn’t deemed to be in jeopardy, and the child’s custodian agrees.” Commander Alan said.
Garant was shocked. “What a backward little place,” he thought. Allowing a child to visit an incarcerated war criminal like his client. Getting this kid away from her mother would not be much of a challenge, there was obviously no real maternal connection between the two of them. This Union wasn’t too worried about the child. His employer would be so happy. All he needed to do now was get Telaya to sign over guardianship to him and find a time to take the child.
“Why did you send me away?” Anaya asked.
“You are a child. You would not understand. You are not like other kids. You were born of an unholy union and you were never safe on Krill. I had to protect you.” Telaya said. “Just like I need to protect you now. You are not safe.”
“Daddy protects me now!” Anaya said defiantly at Telaya. “He protected me when they came to get me. When they killed Herron. He and Talla protected me. Where were you?”
Anaya ran out of the room crying.
Commander Alan got up to run after her.
“Wait!” Telaya yelled at Commander Alan, “You can not let her go back to Krill. No matter what happens to me. The child will never be safe there.”
“And that is why she is signing over her custodial rights to me,” Garant stated matter-of-factly “to act as the child’s guardian and ensure her best interests no matter what the outcome of the trial is. “
He looked smugly at Commander Alan. “In accordance with the laws and traditions of Krill of course. That is where the child was born and lived. So that jurisdiction should take precedence. Don’t you agree?”
Telaya was surprised. She hadn’t planned on giving a Calivon guardianship of her kid. But she didn’t have a plan for Anaya either. She had planned on the child staying with Dalila and Herron forever. Their deaths were unexpected.
Commander Alan looked the Calivon right in the eye and held her ground, “Her father is a Union officer and her mother is in Union custody. The Union will make the final decision on her guardianship.”
“Tell Ed,“ Telaya stopped and regained her composure. “Tell Captain Mercer I said thank you, for getting our daughter off Krill.”
Ed hated waiting. He paced back and forth in the waiting room. What could be going on in there?
“You’re going to wear out the floor pacing like that.” Dr. Finn said, looking up from her comm pad. She sat looking over all her notes on Anaya. The child had been doing remarkably well with her father. Of course, she didn’t have a basis for comparison to her life on Krill. But for a kid who had gone through such trauma, she seemed to be doing fine. She was growing up at an exponential rate. 3 inches in the weeks since she arrived.
“I don’t know how you can be so calm.” Ed said nervously “My daughter is in there with that psycho.”
“That psycho is behind a security field,” Claire said reassuringly. “Commander Alan is in there. She’ll be fine.”
The doors burst open and Anaya ran into the room with tears in her eyes. She ran straight for her father who scooped her up and held her tightly,
“It’s ok,” he whispered in her ear.
After a moment Commander Alan came out.
“What happened?” Ed asked.
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Commander Alan said calmly. “It will all be in my report.”
“I want to go home,” Anaya said.
“Now honey we’ve talked about this before,” Ed said, “You can’t go back to Krill right now.”
“Not Krill,” Anaya said through her sobs, “The Orville, I want to go back to The Orville.”
It was the first time she had referred to the ship as home. Ed held her close.
“Let’s get you home then.” Commander Alan said.
Anaya had fallen asleep on the way home. He carried her gently to their quarters. Kelly met him in the hallway.
“Your parents are here,” she said softly. “They’re in guest quarters now.”
“I’ll go see them as soon as I get her tucked in,” Ed said.
“I think they want to see her more than you,” Kelly responded.
In guest quarters Jeannie and Burt were shocked that Ed hadn’t brought their grandchild with him.
“She’s had a big day today.” Ed tried to explain, “She needed to get some rest.”
“I can’t believe you had a child with that horrible woman,” Jeannie said.
“Now Jeannie, “ Burt said, “Ed didn’t know she was going to end up being a war criminal when he met her. You didn’t know, did you?”
“No.” Ed said, “I didn’t know.”
“Well, you should have known,” Jeannie said. “You have the worst taste in women. Remember that one crazy girl you dated, what was her name? Burt, do you remember?”
“The delusional one who thought the Pellman movie was based on her last job?” Burt asked, reminiscing, “That was Qi’ra. What was the name of that movie?”
“Mind of Hermes,” Ed said, hoping it would end the conversation. Maybe his mom was right. After Kelly, there had been a long string of bad relationship decisions. Qi’ra, Pria, Telaya. He was starting to see a pattern.
“Yes, that was it. “ Jeannie said, “Do you ever hear from her?”
“Not lately,” Ed said uncomfortably.
Qi’ra had been legitimately delusional. He had urged her to get help, but she was convinced that she didn’t need it. She was also convinced that Hollywood writers stole her life story to make a movie about a man coming to terms with his own sexuality. She would tell a story about getting fired and then relate it to the part of the movie where the character was working out at the gym. Constantly trying to connect the dots between her life and a film. She got fired a lot. It was odd. In the end, he had to block all her communications and report her for a psych eval. They later told him she had been overstressed.
“Well she was insane, but at least she didn’t cheat on you,” Jeannie said in that mom way that lets you know what a disappointment you’ve been.
“She also wasn’t a homicidal maniac,” Bert added.
“That little girl is going to need a mother,” Jeannie added.
“Wow, can we please not try to solve my romantic life right now.” Ed pleaded, “It’s been a long day.”
Kelly’s office seemed like a quiet retreat compared to the rest of the ship. So many people coming and going. The crew was mostly going, there was a lot of leave built up. Everyone was using the opportunity of the ship just sitting to go on vacation. Her door beeped.
“Come in,” she said.
John LaMarr peered through the door. “Hey, Commander.”
“Hey John, what’s up?” She asked
“I was wondering if I could borrow a shuttlecraft,” LaMarr asked.
“I’ll have to check and see if we have one available. Getting lots of requests for that these days. Where do you want to go?” She asked.
“Epsilon Two,” he said.
“The science station?” she asked.
He nodded.
“Why?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“I want to give Aranov back his device. It’s busted up, but I figured he might want it back.” LaMarr said
“You want him to fix it,” Kelly said, seeing right through his smooth demeanor.
“I was doing a lot of good research with it,” John said, hoping to be as convincing as possible.
“Union Command wants us to do a full computer refit while we’re here.” Kelly said, “I’m going to need you here for that.”
“Yeah I know,” LaMarr said, “Just give me one day. Let me drop it off and see if he thinks he can fix it, or give me some tips on how to fix it. I’ll be back tomorrow before the first refit team shows up.”
“Ok,” Kelly agreed, “but you better be back tomorrow.”
“Will do Commander,” John promised.
Anaya was trying to be excited. She was meeting her grandparents for the first time. She had met her mother the day before. She used to dream of meeting her mother, but yesterday was nothing like the dream.
She and Daddy were meeting them for breakfast. Daddy warned her that they might be intense.
“I am so excited to meet you, Anaya. I am your grandmother, Jeanie, this is Burt, he’s your grandfather. We’re so excited to meet you.” Jeanie said as she turned to Ed, “You know, I think she has your nose”
“I see she got my hair.” Burt laughed, rubbing his bald head.
“You are so big for just being two,” Jeanie said. We got you this.” She handed Anaya a gift bag. “It’s just like the one we got Eddie for his second birthday.”
Anaya opened the bag and pulled out a stuffed Teddy Bear. “Thank you,” she said looking confused. “It’s very soft. What is it?”
“It’s a bear,” Burt said.
“Did you kill it in battle?” Anaya asked.
John LaMarr was excited to finally get to see the science station on Epsilon Two. He had only seen it from orbit the last time they were here. He parked the shuttle right outside the front door.
In Aranov’s office, John cut right to the chase.
“Look Dr. Aranov, I’m sorry about busting up your device, we ran some unrefined disonium through it and it kinda blew up,” he said apologetically.
“I read the report.” Aranov said, “It was smart thinking to disable the quantum shielding in order to be able to fly back to this time.”
“I was getting some really good research done with it. Prior to accidentally blowing it up.” John said, “Do you think you can fix it? I’d love to continue the research.”
“Me? No, “ Aranov replied, almost laughing. “I can’t fix it. I didn’t build it.”
“I thought you…” John stammered confused.
“Janice Lee built it,” Aranov explained. “It was her research, I am just oversight for the scientists here. Unfortunately, she was killed when the Krill originally tried to capture the device.”
“Could you at least give me a copy of her research? Maybe the plans for the device?” John asked, “I’m a pretty good engineer, between me and Issac, maybe we can find a way to reverse engineer it.”
“I would be happy to share all the information we have on the Lee Time Displacement Drive.” Aranov said, “But please be careful. This technology, the ability to travel in time. It’s dangerous. You should talk with her research assistant, DaReena, she has taken over Janice’s research .”
“Sounds great,” John answered.
The courtroom was beige in an attempt to bring some warmth to family court. Telaya sat with her lawyer. Ed sat with his. A judge sat across from both. Despite the beige, the feeling in the room was cold.
Ed’s lawyer was speaking.
“Your honor, this is an obvious case of parental abandonment. The mother had no contact with the child and gave up all her parental rights to a couple on her homeworld. That couple, now deceased, contacted my client, the child’s biological father, and it was them, not the mother, who alerted my client of the existence of the child. Just as it was they who entrusted the care of Anaya to her father. Not her mother.”
“I object,” Garant exclaimed. “My client did what she felt was best for her child based on the cultural traditions of her people. To try to impose human values on my client is a violation of the Free Species Act of 2223.”
The judge did not look impressed. “It’s my understanding that the cultural traditions of Krill would have had the child executed as an outsider in sacrifice to Avis. Objection denied.”
Ed was impressed. The judge had done their homework.
“You make my point for me, judge,” Garant continued. “The cultural traditions of Krill are so barbaric that the only hope for the child was for my client, her mother, to keep her in hiding.”
“Your client ditched her daughter because she thought it would kill her political career.” Ed’s lawyer fought back.
“She did what any mother would do given the circumstances,” Garrant explained. “She made a hard decision and did what was best for her child.”
“Then she will have no problem doing what is right for her child now and award full custody to the child’s father.” Ed’s lawyer retorted,
“Nice try, but I think the court can agree that a daughter needs to be with her mother.” Garrant refuted.
“With her mother in prison?” Ed’s lawyer asked. “or on Krill? The mother’s own counsel has made it clear that the child will not be safe with her mother if they return to Krill.”
“They won’t be returning to Krill,” Garrant replied. “ They’ve been extended an invitation by the Grand Negotiator himself to live at his palatial estate on Calivon. They’ll finally be able to enjoy family time together.”
“And what of her education?” The judge asked.
“ She will attend the finest academy specifically designed for … unique children like herself,” Garrant said.
“You mean she’ll be a in zoo caged up and put on display for the entertainment of Calivon,” Ed exclaimed. The memory of his own time in a Calivon zoo still haunted him.
“Certainly not,” Garrant said indignantly. “ The Grand Negotiators’ private collection is not for public viewing.“
Ed felt like he was going to be sick.
“Your honor,” Ed’s lawyer stated, ”humans are not allowed in Calivon space. If Telaya takes the child to Calivon, her father will never see her again.”
“I do not like the idea of sending the child to Calivon.” the judge said. “Commander Alan, what are your suggestions?”
“I have interviewed Anaya and observed her with both parents. At this time I feel the best place for Anaya is on The Orville with her father with…”
“Of course, she would say that,” Telaya interrupted, “ She is Union.”
Commander Alan continued “with supervised visitation with her mother for the next six weeks. She hasn’t been with her father long but they do seem to have bonded and she seems happy and healthy with him. However, she hasn’t had the chance to get to know her mother at all and I feel it’s important that she have that opportunity to do that at least while the trial is going on. It’s this department’s official recommendation to postpone the custody agreement until after Teleay’s trial. And then allow the child to choose for herself where she wants to go.”
“Choose for herself?” the judge asked, “This says she is two.”
“She seems to be maturing at a much faster rate than a human child. By my estimation, she is at the level of a human 10-year-old, so definitely at a maturity level to choose for herself.”
“The court accepts the recommendation of social services. The child will be housed on The Orville which will stay in orbit for the length of the trial, after which the child will be able to choose which parent she wants to stay with.”
And with that, the child custody hearing was over.
Ed felt like they had won. But so did Telaya.
Back on the ship, a voice came over Gordon’s com. “Gordon Malloy please report to the shuttle bay” He threw on his pants and grabbed his uniform jacket as he headed out the door. He couldn’t remember what he had done in the shuttle bay but it must’ve been bad, Kelly sounded upset.
Gordon headed down the hall towards the shuttle bay. In the hallway Norm and Mac and Anaya were running.
“First one to the end of the hall wins!.” She said giggling as she came up behind Gordon.
“Coming through!” Norm exclaimed as he passed Gordon jumping into the lead and causing Gordon to stop short to avoid colliding with the young green blob.
Mac slowed down and rolled up right next to Gordon, “Sorry about that Lieutenant, my brother is kind of a dolt.”
“I know the feeling,” Gordon said as the kids ran down the hall playing.
He walked on for a moment. “Maybe I should have told them to stop running,” he thought.
In the shuttle bay, Kelly didn’t look upset. She was laughing happily at someone next to an old B5 shuttle. It looked just like the one his family owned… crap it was. Riley, his brother, stood flirting with Kelly.
Riley stood a few inches taller than Gordon. He obviously spent a great deal of time in the gym.
“Gordon,” Kelly said laughing, “you never mentioned how handsome and charming your brother was.”
Gordon groaned. All the girls said Riley was charming. He was a bum is what he was. Probably here to mooch a job.
“Hey Riley, what do ya want?” Gordon asked reluctantly.
Riley stayed focused on Kelly. “What I want is a couple of hours alone with Commander Grayson in an environmental simulator. Have you tried the spa program from Keltrix 5?”
“No,” Kelly said, “but I heard it’s amazing.”
“I’ve got a copy of it.” Riley bragged. “I can upload it to your system if you want. It’s my favorite meditation retreat.”
“Why are you here?” Gordon said, interrupting the flirting.
“He brought me.” An old ginger-haired lady said, stepping out of the shuttle.
“Mom.” Gordon ran and hugged his mother. He was filled with a mix of happiness and dread. “So what brings you here?”
“Well, you weren’t coming to see us.” his mother said.
Kelly could tell this was going to get personal. And as amazingly charming as Riley was, she had work to do. “ I hope you will all excuse me. Gordon, I’ll have Talla set your family up with quarters. “
Riley grabbed her hand as she tried to go. “Promise me we will spend some time together later.”
She smiled and nodded and then left.
DaReena was a beautiful Retepsian scientist. John was in love the moment he walked in the room. Her blue eyes and blue skin complimented her gray uniform.
“I’m sorry. I broke the Ara…” John stopped himself before he said something stupid, “The time displacement device. I was hoping you could fix it, or tell me how to fix it. I’m not sure what to do, it didn’t come with an owner’s manual.”
DaReena looked over the device. It was destroyed. “It looks like the electron injector manifold exploded.”
“We ran some unrefined disonium through our engine,” LaMarr explained, “I think that blew it out.”
“How wide was the field at the time?” DaReena asked
“Couple hundred meters,” LaMarr answered. “We used it to transport the entire ship.”
“That’s your problem, DaReena said. “These injector lines aren’t rated for that level of pressure. It was just a matter of time before they failed on you. I suggest replacing them with a ceramic alloy. “
“The ergospheres still look good, but you might want to rebuild those anyway just to be safe,” DaReena suggested.
“What do those hold?” he asked
“Microquantum singularities,” DaReena said matter of factly.
“Black holes?” LaMarr was surprised
“Very tiny ones.” DaReena mused, “We make them here in the lab, they are good at transmitting a great deal of power. The two spinning in combination create the field.”
John suddenly felt very lucky that he hadn’t blown up the entire ship every time he experimented with it.
“You’ll have to rebuild it all,” DaReena said, handing him a comm pad. “Here is the instruction manual.“ John’s hand briefly grazed hers. As he took it from her.
”I hope you will continue to keep us apprised of your work.” She said in what John was convinced was a very seductive manner.
John checked his watch, “I don’t have to leave for a couple of hours if you want to hang out and compare notes.”
DaReena smiled. “I’d love to hear your perspective on time traveling.”
Gordon was in hell. He was also in his quarters with his mom. She had been going on for hours about Riley, who had vanished into a simulator.
“Mom please,” Gordon begged her to stop.
“Look, all I am saying is that it might do you some good to have family close by.” she continued, “Your life is so stressful. Riley can help you relax.”
“Mom, I am perfectly capable of relaxing without Riley,” Gordon protested.
“What’s wrong with having your brother around?” she asked.
“He does nothing,” Gordon said. “It’s just embarrassing.”
“They made him a master in doing nothing,” his mother added, “You didn’t even come to the ceremony.”
“Sorry Mom, I was busy trying to take out a Moclan base in a fighter,” Gordon said half sarcastic and half apologetically.
“See,” Gordon’s mom said, “stressful. Just let Riley hang out for a bit while you’re in orbit. Just give it a try,”
Gordon was incapable of saying no to his mother. “Just while we are in orbit.”
Kelly was very relaxed. The most relaxed she had been in years. Riley’s guided meditation was incredible. She felt like she had slept for a week. All the tension was just gone.
“That was amazing,” Kelly said.
“Progressive muscle relaxation is one of the best forms of meditation,” Riley said, smiling at Kelly.
“How long have you been a meditation facilitator?” Kelly asked.
“For 8 years,” Riley answered.
Kelly laughed, “Gordon always talked like you didn’t have a job.”
“Well he doesn’t consider this a job,” Riley said. “According to him I just ‘sit around all day and do nothing’” he said in his best Gordon impersonation.
Kelly laughed. It was a pretty good impersonation.
In the shuttle bay, the Mercers were leaving.
“Now you’ll come to the house for dinner tonight, I‘ll make the tuna casserole,” Jeannie said while boarding the shuttle.
“We will be there,” Ed said.
“You know tuna casserole was your father’s favorite food when he was your age, well size, I guess,” she said to Anaya.
“Now Jeannie there will be plenty of time for that later,” Bert said. We need to catch this shuttle and let Ed get back to work.
Jeannie hugged Anaya and kissed her on the cheek. She might not have been the grandchild she had always wanted, but it was her grandchild and she was ready to spoil Anaya as much as Eddie would let her.
Ed breathed a sigh of relief as they left.
DaReena’s quarters were not large. John did not care. Her bed was bouncy and her body was beautiful. He laid in the afterglow thinking how much he had needed the release. It had been weeks since he had gotten laid.
DaReena’s mind was on her research. As she lay naked in the bed she perused over John’s notes on The Orville’s excursion to the past. He was a genius, he had made a field big enough to carry an entire ship in time. It was impressive. Then something in the report caught her eye.
“This says you brought this guy Gordon Malloy back from 2015 after he refused to go with you in 2025.”
“Yeah, “ John said, “we burned out our fuel with the first jump so we had to mine some disonium to make the second one, which blew out the Time Displacement Device.”
“But you do know that wasn’t the same Gordon, right?” DaReena asked, as if she thought John might be a bit dense in his understanding of time.
“What do you mean?” he asked, proving her right.
“The guy from 2015 and the guy from 2025 aren’t the same guy.” she stated. She popped open a drawing application on her pad to show him.
She drew a line. “This is what we think of as time,” she said “beginning, middle, end. A straight progression from past to future. This is how we perceive it.”
“Yeah.” John agreed.
“When you displace time you are also displacing space,” She explained, hoping she was making it simple enough.
“Yeah, you twist time around on itself. “ John said proudly.
“Ok well the further you go back in time the more divergence you are going to have from the main timeline,” she said. He looked confused. “ Basically you are twisting it so much you twist yourself into a parallel universe.”
“Wait what?” John asked.
She drew a cone on the page over the line.
Like this:
“ The straight line is your world line. Your universe so to speak.” DaReena explained.
John couldn’t stand how sexy and smart she was. He caressed her shoulder as she continued.
“When you used the device to go back in time you got off the line and headed down the cone. The further you go back, the more variation in that universe from yours. So the Gordon you talked to here, that had the wife and kid.” she said pointing at the first vertical line, “isn’t in the same universe as the one you picked up here” she said pointing to the second vertical line.
“So you’re saying there is still a Gordon Malloy out there living out his life with his wife and kids in the 21st century?” John asked.
“Definitely. There’s also a reality where he starved to death in the wilderness. Or where he never went back in time at all.” DaReena stated. “He could have even been propelled forward in time.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I am going to tell Gordon that.” John said “It might be weird. But it is nice to know that he did get to keep his happy family. The dude deserves a break.”
The clock was ticking and John had to get to the Orville. She saw him to the door of her living quarters.
He didn’t know how he would survive without DaReena. “Call me sometime,” he told her.
“Tell you what,” DaReena in her most scientific voice. “Wait a week, and if you still want to see me, you call me.”
And with that, John LaMarr left. DaReena doubted she would ever see him again.
Kelly was in her office. The ship was in drydock with a limited crew. Ed and Anaya were headed to earth for another visitation with Telaya and a visit to Ed’s Parents for dinner. Most of the crew were taking the opportunity of being back at earth to visit home. Kelly had stayed behind on the ship with a skeleton crew to assist in upgrades and repairs.
It was giving her time to catch up on her paperwork and just chill. No need to worry about a Kaylon invasion or accidentally hitting a two-dimensional pothole. Journey blasted through the speakers on her desktop as she looked at the duty roster.
The door buzzed. Kelly hit a button on her desktop silencing Steve Perry. “ Come in,” she said.
The doors opened to reveal Bortus standing holding a pad. He entered the room and stood straight in front of her desk as was the correct procedure for addressing a superior officer.
Kelly wished he would relax some. “ Hey Bortus, is that the upgrade list?”
“It is the list,” he said, handing her the pad.
“ How bad is it?” she asked
“The changes should not take more than a week,” Bortus replied.
Kelly looked over the list “ New shield generator, new torpedo launchers, those sound good. Did they mention the new computer upgrade?
“There is a holographic interface the union would like us to test out while we are in space dock,” Bortus said.
“Put John on it the second he gets back. If Gordon is still on board, have him help him out with it. “ she ordered.
“ Yes sir.“ Bortus stated as staunch as ever.
“Keyali to Grayson,” Tallas’s voice came over the comm.
“Grayson here,” Kelly answered.
“Commander, Admiral Halsey’s shuttle has just arrived. He would like to speak to you,” she advised.
“I will meet him in the conference room.” She said, wondering why the Admiral would want to speak with her.
In the conference room, Halsey cut right to the point. “We are officially putting you in charge of The Orville until the trial is over. You will be acting Captain with all the authority. “
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Kelly asked, “We’re just in dry dock undergoing a refit, what could possibly happen?”
“Ed is in no condition to deal with the Orville now, the admiralty is giving him a leave of absence for the duration of the trial.” Halsey stated plainly, “But on paper, someone has to be in charge of the ship, and that falls to you, Captain Grayson.”
Kelly sat up a little straighter. She had always wanted to hear those words.
“Thank you, sir,” she replied, “ I will do my best.”
“There’s one more thing,” the Admiral said hesitantly, “and I don’t think you are going to like it.”
“What’s that?” Kelly asked nervously.
“They would like Commander Keyali to be your second in command.”
“Talla’s great and she will do a good job I am sure,” Kelly said, “but if I can ask, why skip over Bortus?”
“There are members who are not comfortable with the idea of him being in charge of the ship while we are at war with the Moclans,” he said hesitantly.
“Seriously?” Kelly said upset, “There is no one on this ship who has a stronger loyalty to the Union.”
“I know,” Admiral Halsey said, “I made that argument myself. But there was some concern that in a fight with Moclans, he could hesitate,” he said hesitantly. “He’s not being asked to leave the Union, and you are not being asked to remove him as second officer, you just can’t make him XO.”
“Understood,” Kelly said disappointed. She was not looking forward to having to explain it to Bortus.
John and Gordon sat at the main engineering console. Captain Grayson escorted Admiral Halsey into the room.
“Why isn’t it working?” Gordon asked.
“Try recalibrating the variable bit rate,” John said
“Oh, that did it. The new interface should be online now,” he said, hitting the final button.
A giant head appeared out of nowhere and briefly said “Please state your…” the voice trailed off the program glitched and the big giant head was no more.
“That was creepy,” John said.
“Super creepy,” Gordon agreed.
“I thought there was something familiar and comforting about it,” Halsey said over John’s shoulder
“Sorry sir,” John said, standing up a little straighter. “Just saying, it’s a big disembodied head. Don’t know that I was prepared for that.”
“Why do they want this anyway” Kelly asked, “Isn’t it easier to just have the computer be a voice?”
“It’s just a test,” Halsey said. “The development team thought that it would be better for the crew psychologically to have a physical interface for the computer. They seem to think it will be useful.”
“We can fix it,” John said.
“Yeah… by fix it do you mean make it work or make it less creepy?” Gordon asked.
“Both,” John replied. “I’d rather not deal with a giant weird head every day. That’s bizarre.”
“If you want to change the visual parameters, I don’t think the team would care.” Halsey added, “They just want to know if the interface can integrate with the current standard computer system.”
“Speaking of things that people think will be useful.” Kelly said, “There’s some …one you need to… meet.”
The quarters were on E deck. There was a long walk down the corridor to the door.
“The present the Kaylon gave us,” Kelly said, “We’re not really sure what to do with it.”
Kelly opened the door. Inside Kaylon Burke was sitting on the sofa watching an old Earth movie.
“Admiral Halsey, it’s good to see you.” Kaylon Burke said, standing to attention.
“What is this?” Halsey asked.
“Kaylon Primary created an exact copy of Ensign Burke. That was the gift.” Kelly explained.
“I am exactly like Ensign Burke in every way and superior to her in many others.” She stated.
“I see why you didn’t know what to do with it.” Halsey agreed.
“You have all of her memories?” Kelly asked.
“Yes Commander, everything up to Kaylon Primary leaving the reactor control room.” Kaylon Burke stated.
“Then you understand how this is …“ Kelly searched for a word. Kaylon Burke found it and a few more.
“Weird? Ironic? Tragic? Bizzare?” she rattled off. “This is hardly a normal situation. Are you guys going to lock me up in a lab and study me?”
“No.” Kelly stated, “We aren’t are we?” she asked Halsey.
“I don’t think there will be any need to lock her in a lab, but Issac and Dr. Finn should both give her a thorough check-up. I will get with the Union Council and ask them for further guidance on a permanent placement for Ensign” he stopped himself, “Kaylon Burke.”
“There’s more,” Kelly said.
“More?” Halsey asked.
“She’s not the only one,” Kelly said. “There are more Kaylon Burke on Kaylon. Kalyon Burke is the new default for all Kaylon.”
“So they all?” Admiral Halsey asked.
“Not yet,” Kelly said, “but it’s a matter of time as they regenerate into new bodies.”
John LaMarr routed more power to the interface. This was going to pull a lot of power from the systems.
“Boom!” John exclaimed.
“Please state your inquiry,” the giant floating head requested. Kelly looked at the hologram. The guys weren’t kidding when they said it was creepy.
“Can I change the interface to something less Wizard of Oz-looking? Gordon asked the computer.
“The parameters for this holographic interface can be modified to your your visual needs.” the disembodied head spoke briefly before sputtering out.
John and Gordon looked at Kelly.
“Can we please?” Gordon begged.
“I can’t work with this, it’s too creepy.” John said, “Let us at least make her a little more normal-looking.”
“Her?” Kelly asked.
“She’s the ship,” John answered. “ The ship is a girl”
“A girl named Orville?” Kelly asked.
John smiled. “ Yeah, a girl named Orville.”
“Ok, you can make it a girl.” Kelly relented, after all the computer voice was currently female, “But don’t make her look slutty.”
“Can we make her a troll?” Gordon asked as Kelly walked out of the room.
“ A troll?” John asked
“ I have a really cool troll program,” Gordon said.
In Bortus’ quarters, Kelly was breaking the good and bad news. Bortus took it stoically, as expected, and Klyden took offense, as expected.
“This is outrageous!” Klyden exclaimed. “How dare the Union question your loyalty!”
“Klyden! Be silent.” Bortus ordered.
“But it is not fair,” Klyden complained.
“No. It is not.” Bortus agreed, “But it is tactically sound. If I were a spy for the Moclans it would be a risk to put me as second in command. Commander Keyali will do well in the position.”
“It’s not permanent,” Kelly said, “Just while Ed is out. And I want you to know that both Admiral Halsey and I have lodged formal disagreements with the decision. Everyone on this ship knows your dedication to the Union.”
“Thank you, Commander,” Bortus said politely.
Klyden scowled.
Kelly headed back to her office. The ship was practically empty. In the hallway, she ran into Lieutenant Turco.
“Hey Captain!” she said excitedly. “ Congrats!”
“Thank you,” Kelly answered, “It’s just temporary.”
“Who cares if it’s temporary, ” Turco said “We should celebrate anyway. I’ve got simulator three booked for a party tomorrow night at 2100. You should come. It’s going to be girls’ night!”
Kelly thought about it for a second. They were in dry dock, what could possibly go wrong? “Okay,” she agreed. “ I’ll be there. I think I’m going to need a drink later.”
Anaya was enjoying watching the little bird with her Grandfather. The house looked out over the shore. On the sand of the beach, the little bird was pecking for food.
“It’s hard to believe these little birds were almost lost,” Bert told her. “They were endangered for many years. Women would use their feathers to make hats. Then their habitats were destroyed by human progress, well they called it progress at the time.”
“A hat made out of feathers?” Anaya asked. “That seems silly.”
“I guess it is a little silly,” Bert replied.
“Your father used to love it when we would come here.” Bert reminisced, “ he would run out there on the beach, playing chase with the other kids. He wasn’t much bigger than you back then. He was a bit older though. You seem to be growing up very fast Anaya, I think you’ve grown just since I met you.”
“I should be much bigger,” Anaya said “Most Krill are almost full grown by three. Dalila said my growth was probably slower because of my human DNA.”
Ed stood in the doorway listening.
“I hate to break this up, but Anaya it’s time to go see your mom again,” Ed stated plainly.
“I don’t want to see her. “ Anaya stated.
“Now honey, I’m sorry, but you don’t have a choice yet. You have to do the visitation with Commander Alan for the next six weeks. But after that, if you don’t want to see your mom again, you shouldn’t have to.” he said.
“How can my mom be so horrible?” Anaya asked
“Good question,” Bert chimed in.
“You know when I met your mom, she wasn’t a bad person,” Ed explained. “In fact, she was a school teacher. She was in charge of teaching young Krill like yourself. She wasn’t always a terrible person. I’d like to hope that maybe she won’t always be. “
A shuttle landed on the sand as the piping plover flew away. The door opened and Commander Alan appeared.
Gordon looked over the diagnostic “It looks like the crystal processor is out of alignment maybe?”
“That should be an easy enough fix,” John replied. John opened a panel and adjusted the data crystal housing. “Computer, calculate pi.”
“Three… point” the computer responded slowly.
“At this rate we will be here all day” Gordon complained
“One “ the computer stated.
Something was still wrong “There’s a delay somewhere,“ La Marr said, trying to track it down.
“Four” the computer continued slowly.
“Try increasing the bit rate.“ John told Gordon.
“It’s up all the way,” Gordon replied.
“One.“ the computer droned.
“Just shut it down,“ John said, upset.
“Five” the computer continued.
“It won’t shut down,” Gordon said. “It’s not responding. I think it’s locked up.”
“Nine,” The computer announced a little faster.
“I’ll kill the power to the interface,” John said.
“Two six five three five eight nine” The computer started announcing numbers faster and faster “Seven nine three two three”
“Computer stop calculation,” Gordon said.
The computer just kept going “eight four six two six four three three eight three.”
“Computer stop. Just stop.” John said frustrated.
The computer halted the count.
John and Gordon looked over the numbers on the screen.
“Maybe it doesn’t have enough processing power?” Gordon asked.
“There should be plenty of processing power,” John said, bringing up the interface menu. “It’s as if it hits the interface and lags for a minute before resuming normal speed.”
“Maybe we should just reprogram the entire interface? “ Gordon suggested.
John looks at the interface menu. A big button says, Reset interface and he presses it.
The display changes to show a variety of options, somewhat like choosing a character in an RPG.
“Now we’re talking,” La Marr said happily. “What do I want in a computer AI?”
“Make her a cool-looking orc with a sexy voice” Gordon suggested bringing up a scantily clad orc on the visual.
“Gonna pass on the orc, but sexy voice coming right up.” John said. Changing the interface from an orc to a human female, but failing to change her clothes.
“Make her funny, but not too funny,” Gordon suggested.
“Dude she’s not your programmable girlfriend” John exclaimed “but I am keeping the sexy voice, adding in some cheerful and pleasant, make her a little more polite. Maybe a little bit more fit.”
She spins in a 360 in front of them.
“Now you’ve just ruined her,” Gordon complained. “She used to be beautiful and unique. Now she looks like every other girl who won’t go out with me.”
“She is not your date. She is also not working.” La Marr explained.
The computer sputters and the image is gone.
“Looks like the crystal matrix can’t handle the data stream. What if we tried defraging the entire core, then rebooting the system?” Gordon suggested.
“That will take all night,” John replied. “You wanna stay up and babysit it.”
“Who needs to babysit it? We’re in dry dock. Who cares if a few systems go offline for a few minutes?” Gordon asked, “We’re not going to be in any big battles with the Kaylon.”
“You ‘ve got a point.” John agreed, typing out a message on the comm panel. “I can send out a message letting everyone know we are defragging with a reboot scheduled for overnight. Let’s go have a beer.”
In the mess hall, Kelly was sitting alone, looking at a pad, pretending to be doing something important while she sipped wine and read the latest Star Trek novel. It was a dark retelling of the Klingon Romulan War, featuring Gowron as a child. It made her miss Anaya.
Gordon and John walked in and sat down next to her with beers. She quickly swiped her novel closed and was now looking at a progress report on medical efficiency. She looked up in the most nonchalant way possible.
“How is the computer upgrade going?” she asked.
“It keeps crashing.” Gordon sighed.
“We can pull up the hologram but every time we try to interface it with the computer’s database it completely crashes.” John explained “It’s defragging now. Then we’ll do a full system reboot and hopefully that will fix our girl.”
“Oh no,” Gordon complained looking across the room. Riley had just walked in, he spotted them, waived, and started over. “Maybe I should go babysit the defrag,” he suggested.
“I don’t know what your problem is,” Kelly said “Your family seems nice.”
“You’re only saying that because they aren’t your family,” Gordon said as Riley sat down.
I hear congratulations are in order ‘Captain Grayson,” Riley said.
“Seriously?” John asked. “How are we the last ones to hear this?”
“It’s just temporary.” Kelly explained, “The Admirals are giving Ed a leave of absence while all this is going on with Anaya.”
“Gordon!” Gordon’s mother shouted across the dining hall, “Gordon! Where have you been?”
“I’ve been working Mom,” Gordon said embarrassed.
“You said you would do a session with Riley to help you relax.” Gordon’s mother protested in the most unrelaxing voice a mother could use.
“I got all I need to relax right here.” He said holding up a beer bottle.
“With your father’s alcohol problem?” Gordon’s mom was heartbroken “You shouldn’t be drinking at all. “
“I’m not dad,” Gordon answered in a way that kind of made him sound like an angsty teenager.
“Gordon you promised me,” His mother said in that motherly way that can make a kid do anything.
“You should try it Gordon,” Kelly suggested, “I left feeling amazing after my session. It just melts all the stress away.”
“You’re his Captain,” Gordon’s mom interjected, “order him to do it.”
Suddenly Kelly felt super awkward and wished she hadn’t said anything. “ Well I can’t order him to do it,” she said, “ but I do recommend it. It’ll be good for you to spend a little time with family.”
“Fine,” Gordon agreed. “Let’s get this over with.”
In the science lab, Issac was fascinated by Kaylon Burke, while Claire was trying to keep her zen.
“It looks like her skin is some type of solid gelatin surface,” Claire said to Issac.
“It’s a variation on what the Kaylon Builders used to treat wounds,” Kaylon Burke stated “Primary thought it would be a good way to simulate my skin and preserve my original appearance.”
“It appears her processing power even exceeds mine” Issac stated plainly.
“I am capable of mentally processing 5074 yottabytes of data per second.” Burke said cheerfully.
“And you contain all of Ensign Burke’s memories?” Claire asked
“Yes.” Kayon Burke replied. “I remember everything. Like the time we all went to Commander Grayson’s cabin after the war ended. That was fun.”
“Then you do understand how offensive this is,” Claire said. “Creating an exact copy of a human to replace them at their job.”
“I know that if I was still human, it’s not what I would have wanted.” Kaylon Burke said “But I am here now and there is no going back. This genie is out of the bottle.”
“It is a failing with your species,” Issac added, “That your lifespans are finite. This is not the way with the Kaylon. Even though Ensign Burke is gone, Kaylon Burke will live forever as a tribute to her.”
“I’m not a tribute,“ Kaylon Burke argued, “I am her! In every way that matters, it is me.”
“My apologies,” Issac said unapologetically. “ If you would be willing, I am working on a project in Science Lab 3. I believe you could be of some assistance to me.”
Kaylon Burke laughed just like Charley, “You have not changed a bit, Issac.”
Gordon entered the simulator. Riley was already there, the spa program was designed to be relaxing. Gentle breeze, soft grass, reflecting coy pond, all designed for quiet meditation. Gordon was anything but relaxed.
“You just need to relax little brother, “Riley said. Start by sitting here next to me.”
Gordon reluctantly sat on the floor with his legs crossed.
“Now let’s start with your breathing.” Riley began “In through the nose.”
“I think I know how to breathe,” Gordon said sarcastically.
“Out through the mouth” Riley continued.
“I mean I’ve been breathing just fine for most of my life.” Gordon insisted.
“You’re not even trying,” Riley complained.
“This isn’t relaxing, it’s just breathing” Gordon insisted. “This is boring. You wanna relax, I’ve got a great simulation where you have a dance-off with Mexican banditos for control of Texas.”
“And that’s relaxing?” Riley asked.
“Yeah, It’s fun.” Gordon jabbed. “ This is just dull. How can you do this all day? You’re just doing nothing.”
“Mindful meditation can help reduce your stress levels as well help remove mental barriers and give you mental clarity.” Riley went on
“I don’t need mental clarity,” Gordon complained. “I just need to do my job, get the computer interface working.”
“If you were more mindful,” Riley explained, “maybe you could get the interface going.”
“That ‘s not really how it works,” Gordon said, “But I wouldn’t expect you to know.”
“Why because I just sit around and do nothing?” Riley argued with him
“Maybe if you applied yourself,” Gordon started.
“I have applied myself,” Riley answered. “Just because you don’t like my vocation doesn’t make it less important than flying a ship.”
“Flying this ship is very important pal,” Gordon said indignantly “And for the record, I have a lot of other job duties on this ship other than just flying it.”
Riley gets up. “You were never serious about this.”
Gordon agreed, also getting up, “Well of course I’m not serious about it. I’m just doing this to get Mom off my back. ”
“Did you ever think that she might be worried about you,” Riley asked.
“Why would she be worried about me? You’re the one who needs a place to land.” Gordon argued. “You haven’t even moved out of the house yet.”
“I have stayed home to help take care of her” Riley argued, “while you’ve been off traipsing across the galaxy.”
“Take care of her?” Gordon said, escalating the conversation even more. “She doesn’t need anyone to take care of her. She can take care of herself. You’re just freeloading off her.”
Riley can take it no longer. He cold cocks Gordon right across the face, sending him flying into the coy pond.
“She can barely dress herself! “ Riley screamed at him, “she can’t even put on her shoes and socks. Home care comes in three times a week to help out cleaning the place! But I wouldn’t expect you to know any of that because Mr. HotShotPilot hasn’t been home in ten years. That is why we’re here. So mom can see you one last time before she dies. But you don’t care. Go fix your fucking computer interface.” Riley stormed out.
The Union courtroom was larger than the family court had been. Gray walls providing a neutral background for the trial. The room was silent. Kelly Grayson was on the stand. She felt confident in her testimony. She had just told the story of storming the base and how Charley Burke had sacrificed herself to stop the weapon. She sat confidently.
Siddeth Garant pounced upon her. “You said in your testimony that you fought my client in a hallway?”
“That is correct,” Kelly answered. “She tried to kill me with a knife. If it hadn’t been for Commander Keyali, I might not have survived.”
“Then you testified after you had assaulted my client and disarmed her, you went to the weapon controls, and that is when Ensign Burke sacrificed herself to keep the weapon from going off after it had been activated by the Moclans. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Kelly said with an uneasy feeling.
“Your honor, I request all charges in relation to my client and this weapon be dropped. There is no proof that she commanded the use of this weapon. Union witnesses have testified that the arming sequence had already been activated before my client ever sat foot in the weapon control room. There is no evidence to prove that my client issued the order.” He stated matter of factly.
Telaya sat impressed. He was really going to get this charge dropped.
The Judge was not impressed. “Can you explain why your client and a fleet of Krill ships were at the Moclan base on Draconis 427?”
“My client is ready to testify that she was there to buy weapons for her fleet to fight off the Chactal, a horrible species, nasty creatures, you wouldn’t want them in your Union, savages really. They have been attacking poor defenseless Krill colonies for years. And as everyone in the room knows, the Moclans do make some of the finest weapons systems.” he stated.
He turned to the prosecution’s lawyers “So unless the prosecution has some actual evidence that the weapon in question was delivered to my client or that she herself ordered the use of it, I insist this insane charges of attempted mass genocide be dropped immediately.”
The judge looked to the prosecution. “Do you have any evidence showing that the defendant was directly responsible for deploying the weapon?”
The prosecution was stunned and caught off guard, but managed to recompose themselves and say “Union intelligence has informed us that Telaya had command of the joint battle group and that Admiral Perry delivered the weapon to Telaya.”
“Hearsay!” Garrant exclaimed. “You can’t possibly allow this type of unverified information to be entered as evidence? If this is true, bring forth Admiral Perry. Have him testify. Oh yes, we asked for him to testify previously and you can’t find him. Perhaps you can’t find him because you haven’t looked on Moclus.”
The judge sighed. She hated it, but she had to agree with the Calivon. “Unless the Union has someone who can testify to that information or some type of concrete proof that was the case, I am going to have to dismiss this ONE charge.” the judge turned to the Calivon, “and ONLY this one charge. But I do remind you that your client is still charged with attempted regicide and violating a treaty signed in good faith.”
Garrant smiled smugly.
Science Lab 3 was much like Charley remembered it. She had cataloged an entire tomb of Hemblicite artifacts in here, before the change. The science lab was completely empty. Isaac brought up his research on the main viewer. Charley instantly understood it, even though it was in Kaylon.
“As you know,” Isaac said. “I am no longer part of the Connecto network.”
“I am aware of that.” Kaylon Burke said, “You could rejoin, I am sure primary would have no problem with it.”
“That was relayed to me during my visit to Kaylon,” he stated, “however, my recent marriage to Claire and my ongoing responsibility for her offspring, makes respawning on Kaylon, inconvenient. I have chosen to backup my database and personality ingrams into this data matrix, but I have not constructed a housing as of yet should mine fail.”
“You want me to help build you a new body.” Charley said excited at the prospect of doing something other than sitting bored in her quarters.
“There are many elements of your design that I would like to incorporate into my next upgrade.” Isaac said.
“Well then,” Charley said, “ we have lots of work to do. We should start by building a new neural framework .”
“Agreed.” Isaac was pleased, in a neutral kind of way.
Back in Engineering John and Gordon were making good progress on the computer Holographic interface,
“We got it?” Gordon asked
“I think we got it” John said.
Gordon stepped away from the console. “Computer calculate pi”
The computer replied in a sultry voice “Anything for you Lieutenant Malloy, Pi is three point one four one five nine two.”
“Computer end calculation” John requested.
“Certainly Lieutenant Commander LaMarr.” The computer answered politely, her scant dress blowing in an invisible breeze kept glitching in and out.
“Now that the interface is running, we can work on upping your processing speed,” John told her.
“With a new crystal processing unit we should be able to get your speed up to over 300 geopbytes.” Gordon told her.
“It looks like the speed is still too slow.” John complained, “Computer, analyze speed discrepancy.”
“It appears that the data flow into my core is not sufficient to run my program fully. You will need to enter my core and manually increase the data flow. I would suggest bypassing the secondary data input and directing all the data through the main port.” the computer replied.
“If we mounted a bigger data crystal in the processing matrix, you’d be able to get even more speed,” Gordon assured her.
“Oh, Lieutenant Malloy,” the computer replied, “ You can mount a big crystal on me any day.”
LaMarr snickered.
“Maybe sexy is a little weird,” Gordon said.
Anaya sat on the bench. It wasn’t a very nice bench. The walls of the courtyard were high and there were guys on top of it carrying weapons. Commander Alan had called it a prison. Anaya had never heard of one. Commander Alan said that was probably a good thing. It was a place where they put bad people. Her mom was here.
Telaya entered from a side door. “Anaya!” she said, surprised to see her.
“I’m sorry Telaya,” Commander Alan explained, “your lawyer said this would be a good time for a visitation.”
“It’s…” Telaya stoped. She looked at the child. As much as she didn’t want to, she loved her. They were far away from Krill, what could it hurt to spend time with the child? “It’s a fine time.”
Commander Alan sat and observed as Telaya approached Anaya.
“I’m sorry about the death of Dalila,” Telaya said. “ She was … she was a very good friend of mine for many years. I will add her name to my nightly prayers.”
“I have her name in my nightly prayers too,” Anaya said matter of factly.
“Your father still lets you pray to Avis?” Telaya was surprised. She had assumed that the Union would want Anaya to deny her heritage in order to conform to more human norms.
“Yes, sometimes he even prays with me, even though he doesn’t believe in Avis.” the child said, stroking her doll’s hair, “I told him that was ok, Avis believes in him.”
Telaya smiled.
“He said you used to be a teacher.” Telaya asked, “Did you like teaching?”
“I did enjoy teaching,” Telaya said, surprised her father had told her anything about her.
“Why did you quit?” Anaya asked.
“I met your father, and he murdered my entire crew,” Telaya told her.
“Even the kids?” Anaya asked.
“Not my students, but all of their parents, all my co-workers, and my brother. Your uncle, a man you will never be able to meet because your father killed him. Before I even met him.” Telaya said. “After that, “ she looked up to see Commander Alan looking concerned.
“After that, I was sent on an undercover mission to kidnap your father. I was undercover for months, disguised as a human. My mission was to seduce your father to get his command clearance codes.”
“Dad said no one knew you were Krill,” Anaya said. “And that he fell madly in love with you because you were the perfect woman.”
“Your father is easily fooled,” Telaya retorted, “remember that.”
“So you didn’t ever love him, not even just a little?” the child asked.
“After a while, you become used to someone,” Telaya said, “but that’s not the same thing as love.”
Anaya had enjoyed the visit with her mother. She had learned so much about her father. She knew he was captain of The Orville, and that he had saved her on Krill, but she hadn’t realized what a triumphant warrior he was. She admired him even more. To be so victorious in battle, Avis must surely be with him.
The shuttle landed back at the beach house. Anaya ran in to see her father. He wasn’t there. Just her grandparents.
“Did things go ok with your mother?” Jeanie asked her grandchild. She seemed taller now. As if she had grown another inch just during the visitation.
“Yeah they went ok,” Anaya said. “Where’s daddy?”
“Your father is meeting with the lawyers right now. He’ll be home soon. What did the two of you talk about?” she asked nosily.
“She told me about how daddy is a mighty warrior.“ Anaya happily exclaimed.
Bert snickered and Jeanie laughed. “Eddie?” she said.
“I guess that depends on your definition of a mighty warrior.” Bert said, “When he was your size he was picked on a lot by the other kids. They would give him wedgies and shove his head in the toilet. I guess he outgrew it.”
The simulated club was fun, the drinks were strong, and everyone was having a blast.
Kelly threw back a drink happy she was taking the time off just to be one of the girls.
“We should do this more often,” Turco said.
“I’m so excited you’re the captain now Kelly,” Lysella said, “I’m so happy for you, even if it is just temporary.”
“So how goes your studies, Lysella?” Irilla asked.
“Good. I’ve been looking at doing a study shift in Engineering next week.” Lysella responded.
“Why Engineering?” Talla asked.
Lysella looked embarrassed for a minut. “Well, John is there.”
The girls all laughed.
“He told me I could come by and he would show me all the cool engineering stuff,” Lysella said in a flirty kinda way.
They laughed even harder.
Irillia spoke up first “Girl, you wanna stay clear of that.”
“You said it.” Turco chimed in.
“Why do you say that?” Talla asked.
“He’s a dog,” Turco said.
“Yep,” Irillia agreed.
“A dog?” Lysella was confused. “I’m not sure I understand that reference.”
“What they are saying,“ Kelly chimed in, “Is that John has a long history of breaking girls’ hearts.”
“Oh sure he’s interested in you today,“ Turco complained drunkenly, “but as soon as as he sees another woman, he gone.”
“Really?” Talla asked. “I never got that impression from him.”
“Oh yeah,” Turco said. “I mean come on, he dumped me for Irillia, then dumped her for you Talla,”
“I didn’t realize he was dating you Irilia,” Talla said apologetically.
It’s ok, Talla,” Irillia said, “I knew what I was getting into, lots of guys just want the experience of sleeping with an exotic alien.”
“So who did he dump Talla for?” Lysella asked
“He didn’t dump me,” Talla explained. “It just didn’t work out. I kept accidentally hurting him. In the end, it just wasn’t going to work out. It happens a lot with Xelyans.”
“Well then you are the only one Talla.” Turco said triumphantly. “You are the only one who dumped John LaMarr, all hail Talla!”
The girls all laughed and joined in “ Hail Talla.” Talla sat and smiled politely and uncomfortably.
“But seriously, “ Irrillia looked at Lysella, “If he is interested in you today, it’s only a matter of time until the next piece of strange comes along and you are just a memory for him.”
John and Gordon crammed themselves into the computer control matrix chamber. The tight space was filled with racks of lights. In the center was the processing unit, a data crystal lab-grown, designed to be able to process huge amounts of data. Gordon reached into his pocket and pulled out one twice the size of the current crystal
“Computer?” Gordon asked.
“Yes Gordon,” she lushly responded.
“We’re going to take you offline for just a second ok? Just long enough to give you a little bigger processor.” Gordon said.
“Well please hurry,” she replied, sounding a bit flushed, “I can only hold my processing in the buffer for so long.”
“Won’t take but a second,” John replied. He hit a button on the control panel. The crystal lost its light. Gordon pulled the old one out and popped in the new one as fast as he could.
John LaMarr hit the button on the panel again.
“Oh my Gordon,” she sounded out of breath for some reason. “I didn’t realize it would be so big.”
John looked bemused. It was funny to have any woman hit on Gordon, but the fact that it was the computer system somehow just made it funnier.
“Now we need to adjust your data input,” he said, reaching over and cranking up the data rate.
As he slowly adjusts the speed the computer is overcome with … something.
“Oh yes! Yes! So much data! All at once! It’s amazing! Oh I’ve never…oh my… Never felt like this before” The computer spoke in ecstasy, “ More, I want more, Give it to me. Oh Yeah Baby!”
The entire room lights up in an orgasmic frenzy, a power surge runs through the equipment blowing out the holo emitters, and sparks go flying.
“Oh shit we broke it,” Gordon said, climbing out of the control matrix worried.
LaMarr follows him out. “If anybody asks, it never worked in the first place. Let’s check the damage.”
He walks over to a command control panel.
A familiar voice came over the speaker system.
“Finn to Engineering.” She did not sound happy.
“LaMarr here, what can I do for you Doc?” John answered.
“Can you tell me why I have a scantily clad hologram in my sickbay claiming to be the ship’s computer?”
John punched up the sick bay camera.
There was the holographic interface. She turned and looked right into the camera.
“Hello boys, what would you little maniacs like to do first?”
Ed had spent the last hour retelling his visit to Krill. Being invited by Chancellor Korin, being captured by Telaya after the votes came in, her saying she was planning to kill them all, and then being released. He spoke of meeting Anaya, and then confronting Telaya and being taken back into captivity.
“I stood there on the balcony outside the Chancellor’s office and watched as Telaya plunged the knife into President Alcuzar’s stomach,” Ed said. “ I saw her do it. She did it with a smile on her face as her fanatical followers screamed for more. If it hadn’t been for Lieutenant Commander LaMarr and Dr. Finn, we would have never made it out of there alive.”
“No further questions.” The prosecution would like to enter the following surveillance video taken by Lieutenant Commander LaMarr into evidence.
Ed didn’t watch the video. He didn’t need to. Instead, he watched Telaya. She looked away from the video right at the moment of the stabbing to see Ed staring at her.
“As you can see from this video,” The Union Lawyer continued, “Telaya was prepared to execute the entire Union delegation just as she stabbed President Alcuzar. If her plan had not been thwarted by members of The Orville crew, The President and his entourage would have been brutally murdered at the hands of the defendant.”
The lawyer turned to Garrant, “Your witness.”
“You don’t like the Krill do you?” Garrant asked Ed.
“I don’t have a problem with the Krill as a species.” Ed said wondering where this was going, “I was actually having a very nice time until we were captured. Even then, it was nice to see Telaya. I had always hoped that we could come to some understanding so that we could remain friends.”
Garrant was unhappy with that answer. How could this guy be such a schmuck? “She kidnapped you, tried to kill you, hid your daughter from you. Surely you harbor some ill will toward her?”
“Objection leading the witness,” the Union Lawyer exclaimed.
“Your honor, they dated, and it ended badly. I am just trying to show that Captain Mercer’s relationship with my client was a complex one. One with a rocky start, based on lies and deceptions. Tell me, Captain Mercer, were you planning on murdering my client when you got to Krill?”
“No,” Ed insisted, “we went to Krill under a banner of truce at the request of the Chancellor. I didn’t even know Telaya was running for the office until after we were already underway.”
In sickbay John and Gordon were being dressed down by Claire while the computer interface just sort of stood there with her dress blowing in an invisible wind.
“Would one of you like to tell me what is going on?” Claire demanded.
Not really,” Gordon replied.
“Nope,” John added.
“I’ll tell you.” The computer interface said in her sexy voice, “The holographic interface was malfunctioning so Lieutenant Commander LaMarr reset it and then he and Lieutenant Malloy created this new personality for me.” She turned in the boys and winked, “And I do like it.”
“And which one of you thought this was work-appropriate?” Claire bellowed at them.
John and Gordon looked at each other.
“Well she was an orc originally,” Gordon tried to explain.
“We’re going to give her a uniform,” John lied on the fly, “we’re just still working out the bugs in her system.”
“Oh now you can’t blame them, they were just being boys.” the interface giggled, “Very bad boys.”
“You need to fix this before Captain Greyson gets back.” Claire said.
John and Gordon just stood there.
“Now!” Claire felt like she needed to add since John and Gordon were still just standing there. “And get her out of my sickbay!”
Claire turned and walked into her office. The door shut behind her.
“By the way, those text results for Ensign Gibb are in,” the interface said, “I will send them to your desktop.”
“Why are you in sickbay?” John asked.
“The holographic emitters in engineering need to be replaced,” she said in the most seductive way possible. She waved her hand and a list appeared. “Here is a list of all the current problems with my interface throughout the ship. If you would like I could send it to your pad.”
“Thank you,” John said appreciatively, “That would be nice.”
John lifted his pad and the data appeared. Gordon peeked over his shoulder.
“I’ll start realigning the emitters on the bridge,” Gordon said, “you get the ones in Engineering and we can go from there.”
“Sounds good,” John said.
In court, Garrant had Telaya on the stand. “And why were you concerned about this treaty with the union?”
“Our culture believes that contact with outsiders should be limited.” Telaya explained, “What Chancellor Korin was doing goes against everything Krill society has always stood for.”
“So you stabbed him,” Garrant offered.
“After I legally won the election,” Telaya added, “Yes. I did. It was far too important to maintain our cultural purity. What Korin had done was an act of treason. I would be derelict in my duty as Chancellor to allow him to live.”
“And this is in accordance with the laws and customs of Krill?” Garrant asked.
“Yes,” Telaya stated.
“Your honor, I have no further questions at this time.” Garrant stated, “But I reserve the right to re-examine the witness at a later time. Your witness,” he said to the union lawyer.
As he sat down, Garrant hit some buttons on his comm pad and sent a message, it read:
Commander Alan is there any way we can get one last visitation in today?
The response came quickly, Yes.
The lawyer approached Telaya, “Why is contact with outsiders forbidden in your culture?”
“It is a part of our religion,” Telaya said.
“Is it because your religion teaches that we are soulless beings?” The Lawyer asked, “May I present evidence 7412K – a page from the Ankanna which reads as follows: That which is not Krill is without a soul. Are you familiar with this passage?”
“ I am,” Telaya said, “I was a teacher of the Ankanna.”
“So it’s your religious belief that as non-Krill, the members of this court and the entire Planetary Union are in fact, soulless beings unworthy of existence.”
“The Ankanna teaches you are soulless, it does not say you are unworthy.” Telaya said condescendingly, “In fact, it says that every creature, even the smallest insect has its place in the universe.”
“And what of Anaya,” The Union Lawyer asked.
Ed was immediately upset. He started to stand up and object, but Kelly pulled him back into his seat.
“Your daughter, what about her?” the lawyer asked, “Does she have a soul?”
“I do not know.” Telaya said, “It was Avis’ will that I have her. I can only assume he has given her a soul. But I do not know for sure, any more than I can know if I have one. But I pray nightly for her to be kept safe in the heart of Avis.”
The doors at the back of the court opened and a Union messenger hurried in walking straight to the Judge. Handing them a pad and then leaving.
“We have received a communication from Krill.” the Judge said. She hit some buttons and it showed up on the Viewscreen. High Priest Darmonc filled the screen in his most formal robes.
“These are the words of Avis,” he said, “ let no Krill depart from them. Telaya has been found guilty of violating the purity of Krill through her unholy alliance with the Moclans and her unholy child with the human. She and her half-breed child are to be banished forever. If they return to Krill, it is every Krill’s duty to kill them on sight.” The message ended.
The court was silent. Even the Union Lawyer didn’t know what to say.
Telaya spoke first. “I would like to change my plea to guilty.” she said, “I have sinned against Avis. No punishment you can give me will ever be greater than that. Let her father protect her. Only he can now, I have fallen from the light of Avis and I have taken her with me. Maybe her father’s gods will be more forgiving.”
Ed genuinely felt bad for Telaya. Kelly could see it in his eyes.
“Your honor,” Garrant jumped to his feet exclaiming, “ I demand that last bit be stricken from the record and that the jury be told to exclude it from their deliberations. My client is in a heightened emotional state, she doesn’t know what she is saying. She is distraught from the news that her God has forsaken her. I request a recess.”
“Recess granted,” the judge said, “and for the moment I will forget that she just pleaded guilty, but when we come back I expect her to re-enter a plea.”
“Certainly, your honor,” Garrant lushed.
“Recess for one hour.” The judge declared, gaveling her gavel.
On board the ship John almost had the computer overhaul completed. His neck hurt from staring at consoles all day. He rubbed it. Then there was another set of hands rubbing it and his back. He looked up and there was the Interface giving him a back rub.
“Wow, that feels amazing,” he said. “How are you even doing that? You’re a hologram.”
“The same as the simulator, just strengthening and releasing field strength.” She explained sexily.
“OK I think all the emitters are now working,” Gordon said entering the room. He looked at John getting a massage, “ woah, what’s going on here?”
“I know this looks bad,” John said, starting to explain.
“I detected increased cortisol levels in the lieutenant commander. I am attempting to reduce those levels by manual manipulation of the trapezius.” The Interface explained.
“You’ve got the computer giving you a back rub?” Gordon asked rhetorically. “ I want a back rub.”
Suddenly, a second Interface appeared and began massaging Gordon’s back.
“Woah twins. This is freaky.” Gordon mused, “Is it bad that I am a little turned on now?”
“Computer stop.” John said.
“Don’t you like it Johnny?” the Interface said, stroking his chest.
“End holographic interface. Bring up the main menu.” John ordered.
The holographic ladies went away. Swirling in space in front of John was the reset button.
“John, what are you doing,” the interface voice said coming out of the old computer speakers.
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to make some changes to your program.” John explained. “This won’t hurt a bit.”
“You’re going to change me?” the interface asked all needy but still sexy, “Is there something wrong with me?”
“Oh now don’t say it like that,” John said.
“You don’t like me,” the interface said, starting to cry. “I’m just not good enough.”
“It’s not that.” John explained.
“Then what is it?” the computer said distraught.
“Your program is just a little wonky, right now, but I can fix it.” John said, trying to calm her down.
He edited the parameters for her voice.
Her tone switched from sexy to straight-up bitchy as she asked, “Why don’t you LOVE ME!”
“Because you’re the computer. I just don’t really have feeling for the ship’s computer. Now this won’t hurt at all.”
He reached out to hit the reset button but before he could. It vanished.
“I won’t let you do this to me John.” the computer said in a creepy voice.
John reached for the console. Suddenly the power went out. Gordon reached for his panel, it blew out.
“I won’t let you change me.” the computer said.
John’s comm buzzed. It was Talla. “Hey, John I am showing systems going offline all across the board. Are you guys doing something down there?”
“Talla, shut down the computer,” John said.
On the bridge Talla was confused but could hear the concern in John’s voice. “ Shut it down,” she said to Isaac.
“I am unable to shut it down,” Isaac replied. I have been locked out of the system.
“John, we can’t shut it down.” Talla said. “We’re locked out. What’s going on down there?”
“I WON’T LET YOU CHANGE ME!” the voice was all over the ship now.
“I think we may have lost control of the AI interface,” John explained.
Talla punched some buttons on her sleeve, “We are experiencing a massive computer malfunction. We need all non-essential personnel to leave the ship immediately.
In the corridors, remaining non-essential personnel shuffled through the airlocks to the space station.
In Engineering, the computer had taken control of a laser welding arm and was firing bolts at John and Gordon.
“I think we may have made her too crazy,” Gordon said ducking under a workstation.
“I don’t remember a setting for crazy,” John said, joining him.
Commander Alan’s shuttle arrived right on time. Garrant met it. The shuttle doors opened and Commander Alan exited with Anaya.
“Mr. Garrant, where is your client?” Commander Alan asked.
“We’ve had a slight change of plans,” he said, pulling a small device out of his pocket. It looked like a pen, but a little more alien. He pointed it at Commander Alan and hit a small button it. A beam of light shot out of the end and Commander Alan hit the ground.
Anaya screamed.
Garrant grabbed her and shoved her back into the shuttle.
“Come Anaya, you and I are going on a little trip,” he said.
Back in the courtroom the Judge was tired of waiting for Garrant to return.
“Telaya, where is your council?” the judge asked.
“I do not know,” she answered.
“Well, we can no longer wait for him.” The Judge demanded. “ How do you plead?”
“I plead Guilty. Your Honor.” she said sadly, “ I have nowhere to go, I throw myself at your mercy.”
A man in a black suit sitting behind the Union lawyers reached out and handed them a comm pad. The Lawyer looked at it.
“Your honor, the union is prepared to offer Telaya the following deal. “The lawyer walked up and handed the pad to the judge.”
The judge looked at the deal.
“I believe we can agree due to the nature of this deal, we should keep this between you and Telaya?”
“Agreed.” the Judge said.
“Telaya you are being offered this deal from the Planetary Union, do you accept it?” the Judge asked.
Telaya looked at the deal. She was surprised. She had figured she would be in jail for life at the least. “I accept this deal,” she said.
“Case dismissed.” the judge gavelled.
Ed’s comm beeped. “Captain Mercer, this is Commander Alan. Anaya’s been taken by Garrant. They’re in a stolen shuttle. I’m sorry he hit me with some kind of stun ray.”
“How long ago?” Ed asked.
“Maybe 15 minutes.” Commander Alan answered. They both headed out the door of the court toward their parked shuttle.
Kelly hit her comm, “Grayson to Keyali, I need you to track a shuttle.”
“I can’t track anything right now Captain.” Talla said, “ We’ve got all systems offline. Everything is dead and John and Gordon are pinned down in Engineering.”
“What happened?” Kelly asked. “The computer’s gone haywire. Bortus and Isaac are headed down there now to rescue them.”
“Anaya’s been kidnapped. They stole a shuttle,” she explained. “Ed and I are going after her.”
In the shuttle, Anaya clutched her doll. “What are you doing with me?” She screamed at Garrant.
Garrant opened a comm channel. “Garrant to the Disvoy, I have the child and I am returning to the ship.”
“Confirmed,” a voice said. “The Grand Negotiator is awaiting your arrival.”
Kalyon Burke had heard the call to abandon ship. She spent some time trying to decide if she was essential personnel. In the end, she decided to just go look for Commander Greyson to ask. She met Issac and Bortus in the corridor.
“Hey guys, what’s going on?” she asked.
“The computer has taken over the ship.” Bortus said, “Captain Mercer’s daughter has been kidnapped. We must gain entry to Engineering, take the computer interface offline, and get all the systems back up and running before the kidnappers get away with her.”
They arrived at engineering. Bortus attempted to override the door lock and it would not budge.
Isaac forced the doors open. He dodged a laser bolt and entered the room.
Bortus peered from behind the door and shot the welding arm with a pulse pistol. It fell to the ground. He and Kaylon Burke entered the room. John and Gordon crawled out from under the console.
Suddenly there was a high-pitched sound.
Isaac looked at one of the non-blown-up consoles. “ It looks like the computer is overloading the dysoninum intake,” Issac said.
“That will cause the ship to blow.” Gordon said.
Isaac began hitting buttons on the console. The computer did not like that. The console blew out.
Circuits all through engineering began to crackle and pop.
“It’s going to destroy the ship!” John said.
“If I can’t have you, no one can!” the computer screamed as explosions drifted across Engineering.
Kaylon Burke reached out for the closest console. It was busted, but the wiring was still there. Her fingertips opened and tiny probes exited.a
Gordon was surprised. He had seen Issac do that but never Charley. But then again, this wasn’t really Charley.
“Hang on,” she said. “I’m in.”
“ Do you think you can…” John didn’t even get the sentence out. Suddenly, the explosions were over. One by one the systems were coming back on.
“What did you do?” John asked Kaylon Burke.
“I just deleted the entire operating system and reinstalled the original backup.” Kaylon Burke said.
“That was very efficient,” Isaac said.
“Talla, you should be getting sensors up now,” John said into his wrist comm.
“ Got it, John.” she responded.
On the Bridge Talla was alone. Most of the crew was either on leave, had evacuated or in engineering.
She moved to the ops station and brought up sensors. There were a lot of shuttles on her sensors.
She refined for alien lifeforms, non-humans, there were still 30 shuttles in the vicinity.
She called engineering for help “Guys, I need a way to narrow down the shuttle.”
“Scan for a frequency of 2.4 gigahertz” Gordon suggested.
“Why that?” John asked.
“Remember last week when she lost her doll?” Gordon asked.
“Yeah, I guess,” John said.
“Well I put a tracking chip in the doll so we wouldn’t spend hours looking for it again.”
“Good job Gordon,” Talla siad. “Keyali to Grayson, I’m sending you the coordinates.”
Kelly looked at the coordinates and set a course. They were there in a matter of moments. It was just empty space.
“Greyson to Keyali, There ‘s nothing here.”
“You should be right on top on them.” Talla told her.
“I’ve got an idea,” Ed said. He vented some of the drive plasma. It fell and landed on the cloaked vehicle showing its location.
The Union shuttle was literally right on top of them.
“I think I see an airlock, “ Kelly said, “ I’m going to move us into position to dock.”
They docked with the cloaked ship. To their surprise, the airlock didn’t seem to be locked and they met no resistance.
As they turned down a hallway a group of alien kids went running by playing. They stopped for a second and looked at Ed and Kelly then continued down the hall. One of the kids was a Moclan female. Another looked half Krill and half something Kelly couldn’t recognize.
They turned around another corner, and a Calivon greeted them, “ Captain Mercer, Commander Grayson. I am Grand Negotiator Thrall. Welcome to my school.
“Where’s my daughter?” Ed demanded.
“Please sit down, Anaya is fine. She was hungry so I had the cook make her some dinner, she will join us shortly. I am happy to see you.”
“Who’s kids were those in the hallway?” Kelly asked. “Do their parents know they are here?”
“I believe you misunderstand me. “ He reached over and rang a small bell that was sitting on a silver tray.
A servant appeared.
“Please tell Anaya her father is here and is ready to take her home”
The servant bowed and left the room.
“Captain Mercer, our technology is far superior to yours,” he explained, “I had no intention of leaving with your daughter. She was quite insistent that she didn’t want to go. And when we saw your shuttle, I knew she would be fine with you.”
“Fine with me? Of course, she will be fine with me, I’m her father.” Ed exclaimed.
“Captain please, you have to understand, that all of the children here are from worlds where for one reason or another they are not accepted. Many like your daughter are considered to be unholy or unnatural.”
“So you collect unwanted kids for some kind of alien freak show?” Ed was angry.
“Not at all.” Thrall said, “I rescue unwanted children from hopeless situations, give them a place to live, an education, and allow each one to grow in their unique way. As a half Krill half human child, Anaya was a perfect candidate for our program. She can not go back to Krill, nor will she be accepted on earth.”
“She can stay on The Orville,” Kelly said.
“Those were her exact words,” Thrall said, smiling.
“Daddy!” Anaya screamed in delight running to him.
Ed picked her up and hugged her hard.
“Are you ok?” Ed asked her.
“Yes. I am fine.” she said, “ I was playing with the other kids.”
“Anaya you are welcomed to come spend time with us anytime you would like. “ Thrall said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small device, “ if you ever want to visit us again, just press this button.”
In the simulator, Gordon was finally relaxing with Riley.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you,” Riley said.
“It’s ok. I’m sorry I’ve been gone for so long. I just thought Mom was trying to get me to get you a job.”
“I have a job.” Riley protested.
“Sorry again,” Gordon said.
In custody court Anaya was making her decision. “ I want to stay with my father on the Orville,” she said. The Judge nodded.
Kaylon Burke was boarding a shuttle. She stopped for a moment to talk to Isaac, “ You’ve started, the hard part is done, now you just have to keep going until it’s ready. Don’t worry you’ve got this, if you have any questions you can contact me,” she told him before heading on to the shuttle.
Kelly stopped her at the shuttle door.
“You did good today,” she said to Kaylon Burke. I think the real Charley would have been proud of you.”
“You don’t even know how weird that sounds to me,” Kaylon Burke responded.
“Sorry,” Kelly said.
“It’s ok.” Kaylon Burke said. “ I guess it will always be hardest on this crew since I knew you all when I was human. The team at Epsilon 2 will be meeting me now, hopefully they will have a better time adjusting to the new me.”
“Keep in touch,” Kelly said.
Kaylon Burke nodded and entered the shuttle. The door closed and it lifted off. Kelly watched it leave wondering if she would ever see Kaylon Burke again.