I was really debating whether I should do this, as The Orville and Dead Space have two completely different tones. It'd be like mixing Fanta and Black Coffee, but I figured I might as well try it out, as like Black Coffee and Fanta, it's probably going to taste bad but at least I tried it. As a warning, there WILL be strong language and potentially sexual situations in this story, and since this is associated with Dead Space, HEAVY gore. Please forgive me when it comes to continuity errors as I only recently finished the first Dead Space game, and due to it's length and detail, I may have a hard time remembering the smaller things.
This takes place three days after the Orville episode "Mad Idoltry", and during the events of the first Dead Space game.
Chapter One: Doorway to nowhere
It was another dull day for the crew of the USS Orville. Lt. Gordon Malloy was performing one of his not-so-famous vocal performances by his favorite band - Bon Jovi. His singing had begun to annoy his fellow crew members to no end.
"Woah, we're half way there! Woah, we're livin' on a prayer!" he sang, dancing rhythmically to himself in front of the ships helm.
Captain Ed Mercer, having heard enough, shot up from his Captain's seat with an angered huff. "Gordon!" he yelled. The entire bridge went quite, as even Kelly who was sitting beside him was stunned at his outburst.
Ed glared so fiercely at Gordon, he thought he was going to burn a hole so large through the small man's skull it would cause his entire head to go up in flames. The helmsman stared back at his Captain, an expression of fear washing over his previously entertained features.
"Shut the hell up." Ed shot. Seeing the dumbstruck expression that Gordon had, Ed was satisfied he had made his point. He sunk back into his seat and continued to gaze around the command bridge as if nothing had happened. Gordon turned back to the window that held the view of space, and flicked off his audio emitter that played the song. An awkward atmosphere bestowed itself upon the bridge, as the crew returned to their duties.
Gordon turned to his new Navigator - Davis, and whispered to him. "Ed's been on edge for the last two days. Wonder what's got him fired up?" he said.
Davis was a Caucasian man at age twenty-six, average height, probably around 5'8". He had dark brown hair and a gravelly monotone voice. He usually seemed rather disinterested in many subjects besides his job, and this one was no exception. The new Navigator glanced briefly behind him at Captain Mercer. "Not really any of our business. That's how all Captains are, right?" Davis replied.
Gordon scoffed. "Not Ed. You haven't known him as long as I have. He used to be so easy-going." Gordon said. He sighed deeply, looking over the instruments he used to control the ship. Their current mission was to investigate an anomaly not too far from Moclus. The Union usually never paid any heed to anomalies, but over ten Moclan ships have disappeared near the anomaly, and the Orville was sent to investigate.
Even the crew of the mighty USS Orville had to admit they had been nervous ever since Captain Mercer had announced the objective a day prior. Even Bortus himself, who usually maintained a stoic composure was mildly intimidated by the thought of going near such a thing. They had recently docked and refueled at Moclus itself, and were on their way to the anomaly and should arrive within the hour.
Kelly studied Ed closely, something she knew he was aware of, but refused to address. She frowned, knowing that she was the cause of Ed's recent mood swings. In the past three days, Ed's personality was a wildcard; sometimes he would be old happy-go-lucky Ed, other times he would be silent, grumpy Ed. She leaned over and whispered into his ear.
"Ed, I'm the one who's upset you, don't take it out on Gordon." she insisted.
Captain Mercer turned to her and gave her an extremely dumbstruck look, as if she had just suggested he should kiss a Mochlan. "I'm not upset, Kelly. Lieutenant Malloy was performing acts of terrible vocal harmonics while attending the helm." he quipped. The joke caused Kelly to crack a smile for the first time in a long time, but Gordon at the helm to scowl as he overheard the discussion.
Before Kelly could respond, Isaac, the Kaylon representative who was serving as the Orville's Science Officer spoke. "Captain, according to the logs given to us by Admiral Halsey, we should be arriving at the anomaly's primary activity point in roughly four minutes." the artificial life-form spoke in his usual chipper tone.
Alara Kitan, the Orville's Chief of Security stood up from her seat and looked out the Orville's Window inside the Bridge. She studied the darkness outside, but saw nothing. If they were approaching a wormhole or supernova, the entire crew would have spotted it by now.
"Weird... I don't see anything." she commented.
Captain Mercer followed. "Yeah, me neither." he agreed. "Anything on the Scanners, Lieutenant Davis?" he asked.
The new Navigator studied both the visual space in front of him, and the maps surrounding the area around Moclan space. His face scrunched in confusion. "No sir. Nothing." he turned back and looked at Isaac. "Are you sure we're in the right spot, Isaac?"
The robot looked at Davis. "Of course I am. My memories do not deteriorate; so if we are off-course, then it is the fault of a human mind, not mine." the robotic being replied.
"Always the humble one, Isaac." Gordon commented with heavy sarcasm.
The Kaylon regarded the Helmsman response for a moment, before pointing out a very obvious error. "But I was not being humble, Lieutenant Malloy. I was pointing out a very obvious fact that I do not make mistakes while a human mind such as Admiral Halsey could fall victim to such a-"
Gordon fumed and shot back. "Okay Isaac! We get it!" he barked.
There was a short moment of silence as all of the bridge crew members stared into the black abyss with utter confusion, but another report from Isaac caught their ears.
"Captain, their is a small quantum fluctuation building up." he said.
"How far?" Ed asked.
The Kaylon studied the readings for a moment. "I do not know. But I believe it is in our best interest to turn around and study our surroundings before something unexpected happe-"
BANG!
Suddenly, Isaac was cut off when the Orville seemed to impact something in it's exterior, as the ship rocked violently, sending it's inhabitants either on the floor or in the air. Kelly hit her head on the arm of her chair, leaving a large bloody scratch on her forehead. The ships emergency red light disoriented Captain Mercer who was helping her up, and the other crew members who were doing the same.
Isaac managed to regain his composure to speak. "Sir, I believe we have encountered the anomaly." he said calmly.
Ed ignored her as he helped Kelly up, he wiped away a loose strand of her hair that was covering her right eye, and used the sleeve of his uniform to wipe away the blood on her forehead. "You okay?!" he yelled, trying his best to talk over the blaring alarm of the ship.
Kelly nodded, "Yeah I'm good." she turned around and faced Bortus. "Bortus! What's our Status?" she yelled.
The large Mochlan studied the scans for a moment. "Deflectors at 92%, we are still intact but I believe the condition of the lower decks should be assessed as well." Bortus
suggested.
Hearing sense in his words, Ed made sure Gordon and Davis were okay... they were. He noticed Alara had readjusted herself back into position. Satisfied the bridge crew was fine, he turned to Isaac.
"Isaac, run a scan, find out what the hell just happened!" he ordered.
"Aye, sir." Isaac said, following the Captain's orders.
Ed turned his attention to the communications console and spoke into the speaker. "John, what's the status of the Engineering deck?" he asked.
John Lamarr, the Navigator-turned Chief Engineer responded immediately. "No casualties, but one injured, I'm sending him to sickbay now. The engine seems to be fine." he replied.
Ed sighed in relief. He stood up, and turned his attention to the crew on board the bridge, all of them looking at him expectantly. He was confused, as even though they had taken a hit, normally they would have already dealt with the situation whether it would be retreat or to return fire, but he could read the expression on each of their faces. It was fear.
True fear.
"What's wrong?" Ed asked.
Gordon gulped. "Tell him, Isaac." he said.
Ed and Kelly faced Isaac, and for the first time, they felt an extremely uncomfortable force radiate from the Kaylon, as if he was in a situation even he was uncomfortable with.
"Sir, it appears we are no longer within Mochlan space."
Ed shrugged. "Where are we?" he asked.
Their was a brief silence, tension and fear filling the air. "I do not know. It appears we are in an uncharted star system."
Ed ran his right hand through his hair, and slumped back into his Captain's seat. Many thoughts raced through his mind, he looked genuinely unsure of how to proceed from this, even as his crew looked at expectantly. He could tell they were desperate for orders, but the situation left his command blank. Kelly took notice of this and took a seat next to him, she gripped his right arm in an attempt to comfort him.
"Ed?" she started.
Suddenly, a deep Mochlan voice cut through the silence. "Captain, scans are detecting a large vessel up ahead."
Captain Mercer's head shot up, his expression now lightened. "Can you hail them?"
Bortus glanced at him briefly. "No sir, Alara can't even establish a connection. Apparently their technology is not compatible. I can run a scan, however." the Mochlan replied.
Ed leaned over Alara and Bortus's shoulder. "Do it." he commanded.
Alara punched in a command on her console. "Aye, sir. Scanning now."
Due to the size of the ship, the scan took a few moments longer than it normally would a ship the size of the Orville. When the results appeared on her screen, her eyes widened at the sight, as did Captain Mercer's.
Alara gulped. "S-sir... it appears that the name of the ship is the 'USG Ishimura'. It is classified as a planet-cracker." The Xelayan turned around and faced Ed, an expression of confusion dawning over her. "I've never heard of that Classification." she said.
Ed frowned. "That's because it doesn't exist." he turned to the window on the Bridge and noticed the ship was in Orbit of a large Planet. He observed the size of the ship, taking note of how massive it was. From front to end, the ship seemed to extend even larger than a Union Battle cruiser.
"Kelly, how fast can we assemble a boarding party?" Ed asked his First Officer without facing her, still entranced by the size of the vessel.
Kelly shrugged. "Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes?" She answered.
Ed studied the vessel even more, not only was it large, but it was intimidating. He had seen entire fleets of Krill Cruisers before, even a wing of dreadnoughts, and their design didn't even scratch the surface of the definition of the word "intimidation" when compared to this... Ishimura.
"Do it." he said.
This was rather short I know. But the next chapter should be much longer and eventful, for those Dead Space fans who haven't seen the Orville, I strongly suggest you grab a 30-day trial membership for Hulu and give it a watch. It's actually pretty funny, coming from someone who went in with low expectations. Please leave a review.
Yes, I am aware this crossover is a horrible idea, but I'm going to do my best!