Title: First Contact
Author: openthisjarofpicklesforme
Pairing: Ed Mercer/Alara Kitan
Rating: Explicit (for the content of future chapters)
Story Summary: When the Orville's initial First Contact meeting with a new culture goes awry, Alara is kidnapped by the natives as recompense. Ed will do anything to get her back, even abide by the planet's male-dominant ancient laws.
Beta: chamilet, thank you so much for your assistance, new friend! All remaining mistakes are mine.
Notes/Warnings:
- No notable spoilers for any specific episodes of season one in this chapter.
- Original crew members and an original alien race are from my mind...so, yeah.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, plot etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters are the property of this author and she is in no way associated with the owners, creators, actors or producers of any media franchise dealt with herein. No copyright infringement is intended.
It was just an ordinary first contact mission, the Orville's very first, and Alara was on high alert. According to regulations, the Captain and first officer should never be planet-side during a first contact assignment together. That way, in case of an attack, the remaining executive officer on board the Orville could handle it.
In reality, Alara didn't have the clearance to stop the Captain from conducting this official meeting himself and there was simply no telling Kelly what to do. In all honesty, despite the blossoming friendship between them, the Commander intimidated her quite a bit. It wasn't a conscious vibe that the older woman gave off; actually, she was one of the kindest people on the Orville. As Kelly's subordinate though, both in age and rank, Alara couldn't exactly order her around...even if her status onboard the ship technically allowed her to do so in this instance.
So, in blatant violation of regulations, Alara found herself on the planet surface with her Captain, the Commander, the Planetary Union's assigned translator, and several of her security team members. While her Captain was clearly at ease with the native inhabitants, Alara was eyeing the people who were surrounding them in a half circle with all the suspicion that she should. Captain Mercer was his normal charming self, all happy smiles and sparkling eyes. Alara envied his ability to be so personable. She couldn't even manage to form friendships on board the Orville with the people she had to spend her day-to-day life with. The Captain, though, could charm anyone.
Given that the Graclath society was a male-dominated one, however, that wasn't too astonishing an achievement. After all, he had nothing to be concerned about; he was without fear of reprisals. Alara on the other hand, had much to worry over. The men gathered around them were eyeing her and Kelly like starving lions surrounding limping gazelles. It wasn't as if they were a race without any females, either. She compiled the pre-mission security briefing herself; she knew that females existed here, but they were subservient, submissive, treated no better than the slaves of Earth's deplorable history. The males surrounding them were mystified by their positions of prominence, that they were treated with fairness by the Captain, that they were allowed to speak their minds. Their attentions made Alara feel nervous, not that she showed it, and she could tell the Commander felt the same way, even though she remained stoic and firm in her position between the Captain and their mission-contingent communication liaison, Dorian.
Dorian was a small, unassuming man who was clearly uneasy in the face of the 8-foot-tall lizard-like aliens that inhabited this new planet. Alara imagined that being a linguist in the field was quite a different situation than just studying their language in the safety of the Planetary Union library. He'd been transferred aboard their ship two weeks ago in preparation for this mission. Though she'd not had much time to get to know the man, nor was there much point as he would be returning to headquarters as soon as this objective was met, she concluded that he was a good man, a bit timid, but well-meaning nonetheless.
It was all going so well that Alara felt she should've foreseen something going wrong. No first contact mission in the history of the Planetary Union had ever gone smoothly; to expect the Orville's to be the exception to the rule was prideful and foolish. As the Captain was saying something particularly witty to the leader with whom they dealt, a tall commanding being named DFaaxelz, a movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention from the discussion in front of her: a male was reaching out to grab Kelly's ass. He was much like his leader, large, vaguely-lizard-like, but he lacked any of the inherent diplomacy that DFaaxelz did. He was quite literally drooling as he reached for the Commander. The blonde in question was too engrossed in the political discussion to notice the impending threat.
Alara's reaction was instinctual; before the offending, monstrously large hand could make contact with the Commander's ass, she had the lecherous male's wrist in a grip hard enough to grind bone. Before he could even so much as gasp, the young woman bent his arm behind his back at an awkward, painful angle. She kicked out his knees at that exact moment. The man on the ground said something in their guttural native language. The translators pinned to their uniforms didn't have enough information on this new, non-Planetary Union language to translate it, but the context was enough in this instance. As soon as he spoke, all the natives that surrounded them pulled out their laser gun-like weapons and pointed them in her direction. Everything fell into deafening silence and all eyes were on her.
"Whoa, whoa," the Captain said, moving to stand beside her, bringing with him the communications officer, "What's with the weapons? Let's just all calm down here." Dorian translated this in a clear, surprisingly concise voice. The Captain, however was already speaking to her out of the corner of his mouth while not taking his eyes off DFaaxelz. "Release him, Alara, Jesus. Do you want to create an interplanetary incident?"
"He went to grab the Commander, Sir…"
"So? Kelly is more than capable of fending off creeps herself, trust me." He rolled his eyes skyward, "you've caused a diplomatic incident by not being subtle."
"Sir," Alara said, dragging the syllables out, her forehead crinkling slightly as she tilted her head to view him out of the corner of her eye, "didn't you read the pre-mission briefing?"
Before he could answer, DFaaxelz responded in a booming voice to the Captain's previous inquiry. With every rough vowel he uttered, Dorian grew paler. Alara knew that it had to be bad, but she didn't dare release the man in her grip, even if prudence dictated otherwise.
"What's he saying?" The Captain demanded, turning his attention to the man in charge of their ability to communicate.
"He says-um, that the lieutenant has broken at least one sacred law. That, by intervening in that man's...ahem...'proposal' to Commander Grayson," an outraged harrump noise escaped the blonde in question, "she's proven herself untrained, wild and..."
"And?" The Captain pressed, a look of confused concern on his face, but whether it was for herself, the Commander, or both of them, Alara didn't know. She supposed that it didn't matter in the scheme of things.
She didn't hear the response. Several of the men were dropping their weapons and advancing on her. One or two of them, she could deal with single handedly, but any more and she wouldn't be able to properly defend herself while keeping ahold of the offending man. He was still eyeing the Commander with a devious glint. A quick glance at Kelly confirmed that the older woman was aware of his intentions so with one last vicious grind of bones in his wrist, Alara released the man.
All hell broke loose in a single breath. Commander Grayson dodged out of the way as the nameless alien made to grab her again and, in accordance with the brief compiled before the mission, grabbed the hand of the nearest crewman to her, in that instance it was the stuttering linguist, and knelt beside him. Every line of her powerful form was broadcasting her displeasure at having to act subservient, but the deed alone was enough to protect her from a forcible marriage.
Alara watched that with a smug, calm smile even as the advancing men reached her. Having already bucked the status quo, she figured that it couldn't hurt anything further to fend off her would-be attackers. For several minutes, Alara fought, her superior strength giving her an advantage for a time, but eventually she was outnumbered by fuming males. The man, if he could be called that, whom she'd previously held, sauntered up to her as his comrades forced her to her knees.
She was vaguely aware of the leader, translator, and the Captain speaking in harsh tones, but the young woman was more concerned with the alien gripping her chin tightly and turning her head this way and that. A slow, maniacal grin spread across his face. The scars adorning it making the context of his sentence even more unnerving as he whispered, "Dax cade verde hap calex."
Despite her desire to remain apathetic, the youngest member of the Orville crew felt a heavy dread settle in her chest. She might not know what he was saying, but his tone was enough to set off alarms in her head. Of course, it didn't help that six men were pinning her to the ground, four holding her arms secured behind her back and two using their feet to ensure that she couldn't get up.
"Eskaia telzws miskleaty." Their leader's words were chilling, booming out over the riled crowd, settling the ruckus in mere seconds. Then the men holding her down suddenly hauled her upwards, but before she could make a move to free herself, Alara was thrown over the first man's shoulder.
"Alara!" The concern in the Captain's voice gave her something else to focus upon, "I demand you release my chief of security at once!" Even as Dorian scrambled to relay this commanding message, the young woman knew it would not be successful.
Commander Grayson realized this as well, "Captain…"
Alara didn't see the Captain's reaction to Kelly's subtle warning or hear the leader's response to Ed's demand. There was a sharp jab in the side of her neck and when she turned to see what caused it, there was a young boy no older than ten holding a small device with a wickedly sharp point at the end, and everything went black.
The purple-hued planet only filled the bottom 10% of the window in his ready room, given the required minimum orbiting distance that the Graclath race decreed upon the Orville's arrival. It looks so… standard from up here, Captain Ed Mercer thought bitterly as he glared down at the planet's surface, as though the world itself had done him a great wrong. Just that morning, at six o'clock, he'd been positively giddy at the prospect of reaching planet side and Ed was not a morning person. This day, however, was the first of the Orville's no doubt illustrious future of first contact assignments; he had been excited to reach the planet and begin. Now, he saw the world below for what it really was: a male dominated, stubborn, security-chief-stealing place. As soon as they got Alara back, he was having Gordon get them the hell out of there.
With a frustrated sigh the newly-minted Captain turned his back on the view and headed for his desk. He fell into his chair gracelessly and toppled the stack of PADDs upon it. There was almost enough paperwork involved in being Captain to make Ed wish that he'd never accepted the commission. He left the bridge fifteen minutes ago with the excuse that he was going to touch base with headquarters, find out what the admiralty advised, but as of yet he had not done so. It was not fear that kept him from keeping his word, no it was confusion; how could he explain to them what had happened when he himself was not clear on that?
One minute, he was wrapping up a long day of explanations and assurances with a smile, preparing to make their exit with promises of return for tomorrow, next thing he knew Alara was pinning a man to the ground and everything turned into a shit show. The natives were doing their odd, scream-grunt thing and, despite the obvious signs of having done wrong, his security chief looked at him like he was crazy for telling her to release the man.
How was he supposed to tell the very men that believed in him enough to give him this position that they'd managed to bungle their first serious assignment? Not only that, but in the process, his chief of security had been stolen away for God knows what on a planet full of misogynistic beings with whom she could not communicate. He'd be surprised if they didn't strip him of his command right then and there. Not that that would matter in the grand scheme of things.
No amount of dressing down they could heap upon him would ever compare to the hell he was giving himself. He was the Captain; it was his mission to manage and, because he lacked the ability to truly focus, Alara had to step in. He should have seen the man sneaking up behind Kelly. He should have stopped him, as a man is supposed to do on that planet. Alara had been required to act in order to keep Kelly safe (though from what exactly he did not know.) It was his job to protect her, to protect all of them. He had failed.
He should've done something more to keep not only Alara, but Kelly safe as well. After all, the natives' attitudes towards women were widely known. He should have made sure each of them stayed close to a male crewmember on the chauvinistic, backwater, barely known planet that was Graclatheon. He'd taken for granted that their strengths, both physically and emotionally, would protect them like invisible shields. That was an assumption he would never make again. Hindsight was 20/20 and his was telling him he never should've let them go down to the planet surface.
The door's buzz was oddly loud in the quiet of his ready room, but it didn't take a genius to figure out who was on the other side. For a moment, he debated just waiting her out… then the buzz sounded again and he knew that was a battle he had no chance of winning. "Come in."
"Captain, the bridge crew would like to know what the admiralty has ordered." Kelly looked like the picture perfect first officer in that moment. All blank-faced and serious with her arms folded behind her back and her chin high, just awaiting whatever order he may communicate from the big men in charge. Ed knew better. Though she couched her presence in occupational duty, he knew that she was there for personal reasons.
"I haven't comm-ed them yet."
As he should have predicted, Kelly immediately dropped her pristine First Officer demeanor. "Ed, you've been in here for fifteen minutes!"
He looked up at her from under his eyelashes, "I know."
Kelly sputtered indignantly, her face becoming blotchy and red, "How can you-Ed, this isn't something you can dick around with! This is Alara we're talking about here!"
"You don't think I know that!" Ed shouted, his emotions finally running away with him, as he stood suddenly enough to send his chair flying backwards into the wall behind his desk. His hands slammed down onto his desktop, something deep within it rattling from the force.
Kelly was unperturbed, "So why haven't you contacted the PU yet?" She paused, pushing her voluminous blonde tresses out of her face. Ed could see the instant a reason occurred to her. "Please tell me that you aren't hiding in here because you're too ashamed to tell them that this meeting went south."
Ed was stung by the implication of her statement and his features became hard. "No, Commander, I am not. Time is of the essence. We don't know where they took Alara or what she's being put through." He narrowed his eyes in a glare, "I would never put my pride above my crew."
The air in the room was heavy with tension and, for several seconds, it seemed that neither of them would back down. Then, as if a dam broke, Kelly held her hands out in front of her palms up in deference and Ed deflated, taking the action for the apology it was. There was too much bad blood between them to hold the little things against her.
He let out a long, low sigh, leaning his weight forward onto his palms, "Kel, I don't know what happened down there and, if I don't understand it, then how can I make them?"
"You could have asked the rest of us," she rounded the corner of his desk and laid her hand atop his own. "You don't have to do everything alone you know that, don't you, Ed?"
He turned his head and looked over at his ex-wife; in that moment, Ed remembered why he fell in love with her in the first place. She'd been strong and brilliant, a bright, shining light suddenly in his life. When she had cheated on him, that light had dimmed, but in that moment, again Ed saw the woman that he'd married. "So, what di-"
The chime of the door interrupted the question and Ed rolled his eyes, "No rest for the weary." He pulled his hand out from underneath Kelly's and straightened up before he called out, "Come in."
Their temporary on-board guest scuttled in, his arms hugging his PADD to his chest. "Commander, Captain" Dorian said, nodding to them both in turn, "I thought perhaps I could be of assistance in providing translation for the admirals...particularly since I didn't get a chance to inform either of you before we were summarily returned to the shuttle."
Ed looked to his executive officer and, in unison, they said, "Tell us!"
Dorian was startled for a moment, but he quickly pulled himself together. With an air of professionalism suddenly taking him over, he began recapping what he'd already shared down on the planet, adding in new facts as well: that particular native attempted to proposition the Commander in their way, that if he'd succeeded Kelly would have become the head of that man's submissive harem, whether or not she wanted that, that by stopping him Alara had broken at least four of their laws and in doing so she'd proven that she was basically "a wild, untrained female" and because she'd kept him from acquiring Kelly, she had been given to him in recompense.
The younger man's forehead crinkled in confusion, "What I don't understand is why she stopped that man in the first place? She wrote the security brief herself and reading the entire pre-mission briefing is mandatory. She had to know that was the wrong thing to do."
It was on the tip of Ed's tongue to comment that just because something was technically mandatory, it didn't necessarily mean that Alara had committed every single word to memory. Ed sure hadn't. The pre-mission brief was twenty-pages in length for Pete's sake.
"I think she knew that I didn't see it happening so I couldn't stop it myself."
"Why didn't you see?" Ed asked, turning slightly to look at his first officer, "It isn't like you to be unaware, Kelly."
She glared a little, reading the implication in his question. She knew him too well. "Because, Captain, I was too busy watching everything you did or said so that I could stop you before you put your foot in your mouth and destroyed this whole thing."
His brown eyes widened considerably at the venom in her voice. The lack of confidence that her words spoke of was painful. Does every crewmember feel that unsteady about my command? A new worry settled into his brain, but he stored it away to be concerned with later. Right now, he had to deal with Alara's kidnapping.
"So, now, they think he gets to keep Alara because she stopped him from marrying Kelly without her consent?"
Dorian nodded miserably.
"That's bullshit!"
The bell from his comm sounded and the communications officer's static-y voice interrupted, "Captain, Admiral Halsey is requesting a word with you."
Confused, he looked to the two people in his ready room with him. The Planetary Union didn't contact ships for no reason and mission orders were usually delivered in text through the internal internet. They didn't just happen to call and particularly not so coincidentally. Dorian wouldn't meet his eyes, a dead giveaway to his guilt. Great.
"Okay," Ed said with a tired sigh, "Put him through."
It took several long minutes, with Kelly and Dorian providing assistance when needed, to explain the situation to command. Admiral Halsey was annoyingly silent and his face was carefully blank throughout Ed's speech. It was very frustrating.
"One, Captain Mercer. One first contact mission." The look on his wizened face spoke volumes about his disappointment.
It went straight to Ed's heart. "I know, sir."
"No, I don't think you do, Ed. I went out on a limb to get you your commission. I pulled for the Orville with the other admirals for this undertaking. They wanted to send another, more experienced vessel, but I persuaded them that you could handle this." A humorless laugh crackled through his ready room's speakers. "You lost control of your crewmember and then lost said crewmember, and have probably permanently damaged the Union's tenuous chances of a mutually beneficial relationship with the Graclaths."
There was no denying the truth on his part. He had lost Alara due to his negligence and the chances of the Planetary Union correcting this blunder were shaky at best. He couldn't let the Admiral's error on Alara's actions go unchallenged though. "Lieutenant Kitan was simply acting in her capacity as Security Chief, sir, and protecting her commanding officer."
"Be that as it may," the elder man said, waving his right hand idly, "the question becomes: what to do now to salvage this?"
"Yes," Kelly agreed from over Ed's shoulder, "What's the plan?"
"The Admiralty has decided that the best thing to do at this point is for the Orville to leave Graclath space. We're sending the Tesla to take over the assignment."
Ed didn't give a crap about the mission anymore. All he wanted was to get his security chief back and quickly. "How are we getting Alara out?"
"We aren't."
Immediately, Kelly began to protest, "You cannot be serious. Sir, Alara is only 23. She was just doing her duty as a member of this crew. We can't just abandon her on that planet."
He held up a hand to call a halt to Kelly's tirade. "I am aware of all of that, Commander, and we aren't abandoning her. Your relief will negotiate for her release as soon as they are able."
"Who knows how long that'll take…" Dorian's sarcastic comment wasn't spoken loudly, but somehow the Admiral on the large screen still heard him. The narrowed-eyed look that the high-ranking official gave was enough to make the Orville's temporary crewman look away awkwardly.
Before anyone could say anything further, Ed slammed his hand down on the off button without any warning. The two of them turned to him with twin looks of what-the-fuck. "Yeah, we're not doing any of that," the Captain explained, "we're getting Alara back, to hell with the chain of command."
A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter and, if you did, please leave me a review.