02x14 - The Road Not Taken

[bunniefuu]

Over here.

Look out!

I thought we'd be safe here,
at least for a while.

There's no such thing as safe anymore.

Can't we go to quantum?

Every time we get hit,
the drive goes offline.

There's an ice moon
orbiting the planet.

I could take us inside,
buy us time to reset the drive.

What do you mean "inside"?

Like, not outside.

Do it.

- You ever flown inside one of these?
- Nope.

- Should I be worried?
- Yup.

- There's a large cavern off port.
- I see it.

- Bring us about.
- What?

Trust me.

Okay, go, go, go!

- Quantum drive is back online.
- All right, get us out of here.

Man, that was close.

It's getting impossible
to find a system

the Kaylon haven't occupied.

Yeah, well, they've managed

to wipe out half the known galaxy

in less than nine months.

- Where do we go?
- Calivon.

What are you, insane? They're

just as dangerous as the Kaylon.

Yeah, but last I heard,

the Kaylon haven't taken them on yet.

Probably 'cause it's close
to an even match.

We could hide out
on the edge of their system,

hope they don't notice us.

Can't be worse than anywhere else.

Lay in a course.

Man, I hope this works.

Yeah, I can't remember the
last time I had a decent meal.

Look at this. What'll it be?

One Twinkie.

- Really?
- What?

We almost got k*lled
getting this thing,

and you're having a Twinkie?

I wanted a Twinkie. You want half?

Yes, I want half.

Here.

- Oh, my God. My God.
- Oh. Oh, my God.

- This is so good, so good.
- This is unbelievable.

This is unbelievable.

That is so good.

The hell was that?

We just dropped out of quantum.

God, what the hell's wrong with it now?

Wait a minute, this isn't on our end.

Something shut us down,
an outside signal.

From where?

From that.

- Scavengers.
- Crap.

Wait a minute, how the hell
could they access our computer?

I have no idea.

- Okay, um, don't panic.
- Don't panic?

They're gonna cut off our skin
and wear it like a suit.

What do we do?

We fight.

I'm not gonna let our last meal
be a Twinkie.

You ready?

Don't sh**t.

Hello, Ed.

- Kelly?
- It's good to see you again.

- You know this woman?
- Yeah, we...

went on a date, like, seven years ago.

Called her a bunch of times,
she never called me back.

Yeah, that's...
kind of why I'm here now.

What I'm about to tell you
is gonna be a lot to take in.

Well, a girl who blew me off
seven years ago

just h*jacked my shuttle
in a stolen freighter,

so consider me warmed up.

Are you at all familiar
with the starship Orville?

That's the ship the Kaylon used

to get through Earth's defenses, right?

Yeah.

We were all supposed to be aboard.

What do you mean "supposed to be"?

You were supposed to be the captain.

I was supposed to be
your first officer.

Everyone here was part of your crew.

Okay, well, that's a

much more appealing version of events,

but it's-it's not reality.

Yes, it is, in an alternate timeline.

Is this, like, one of those

cr*ck house ships I've
been hearing about?

Wait, how would you know
about an alternate timeline?

Seven years ago,

I was accidentally sent forward in time

to what would've been six months ago.

I was aboard the Orville.

I saw you there,

along with everyone else in this room.

Before the Orville
returned me to my own time,

Dr. Finn gave me a memory wipe,
but it didn't work.

And I ended up doing something
that changed history.

What?

I said no to a second date.

Huh?

In the other timeline, we got married.

Long story short, I had
an affair, we got divorced.

Out of guilt, I helped get you
command of the Orville,

and because you were captain,
the Kaylon were defeated.

- Because I was captain?
- Yes.

- I stopped the Kaylon?
- Right.

I had to swim with my shirt on
until I was 20.

Just listen.

Because you were in command
of the Orville,

Dr. Finn signed on.

I always like to be posted
where I'm needed.

Apparently, I felt
you could use my help.

She and her sons had a relationship

with the Kaylon emissary Isaac.

That relationship is what got him

to turn against his own people.

The Kaylon lost the battle.

And you all believe this?

It's not hard to believe.

I served on the Orville
with Captain Griffith,

and we all thought
Isaac was our friend.

Kelly tracked every one of us
down, and the things she knew,

no one could've known
unless they'd been there.

Ed,

we have to try
and restore the timeline.

And the only way to do that
is for me to go back

and correct the memory wipe.

Half the known galaxy wiped out
by those people

- because we didn't go out again.
- Wait, wait, wait, wait.

E-E-Even if all of this were true,

and there were a way to go back...

and that's a lot of ifs...

what if the memory wipe fails again?

I mean, w-we're right back in hell.

The reason it didn't work

is that Kelly's brain is deficient

in a protein called beta-secretase.

It's something that could've
easily been missed,

and apparently that's what happened.

With the proper injection,
the memory wipe will take hold,

and history will be restored.

Every sickbay in the Union
is in pieces.

Can you replicate this protein?

No.

There's an underground.

A resistance to the Kaylon expansion.

Yeah, I know about the resistance.

Thought they'd been destroyed.

Yeah, that's what they
wanted the Kaylon to think,

but there are still a handful of cells.

I have a contact in one of them.

They can get us a dose of the protein.

And then what?

One thing at a time.

The resistance base is remote,

and we're gonna have to avoid
a lot of Kaylon.

We'll need a good pilot.

Someone want to show me the helm?

Come on.

I'm sorry.

I saw...

us.

You and I.

We'd been through so much pain
and heartbreak,

and to be an observer
from the outside...

I only did what I thought was right,

to protect us both.

Oh, that's a hell of a decision
to make all on your own.

If you saw your own future

and all the mistakes you made,

wouldn't you try to fix it?

I might consider how it would
affect other people.

Come on, you took temporal law
at Union Point.

You go back in time, you k*ll
h*tler, you stop World w*r II,

you don't know what'll happen.

You could make things worse.

I know that now.

You know, I remember

having a really great time
with you that night.

And then when you basically ghosted me,

I-I thought it was
the end of the world.

Turns out, I was right.

It's good to see you again.

Man. This is one
big-ass asteroid field.

It used to be a planet.

What?

There's a black hole just
outside of this star system.

Slowly sucking it in.

Wow.

There. That's the one we want.
Let's prep the shuttle.

Talla, keep the long-range scanners

at maximum while we're gone.

It'll eat up a lot of power,
but we need to watch for Kaylon.

Got it. Good luck.

Talla. Look after my boys.

This way.

- What do you want?
- Yaphit, it's me, John.

- John? John who?
- From the Orville.

We served together for years.

Oh. Oh, yeah, right, sorry.

Uh, a piece of me
got blasted off last week.

A little bit of my memory was in it.

We need to see the lieutenant.

Okay, hang on.

Lieutenant, you got company.

Well, well. Long time no see.

John. I almost didn't believe it
when I heard you were alive.

Yeah, still alive and kicking.

So glad the Kaylon didn't get you.

Oh. Well, I appreciate you saying so.

Who are they?

Ed Mercer, Kelly Grayson, Claire Finn.

- This is Alara Kitan.
- It's nice to meet you.

Yeah, Alara used to be chief
of security on the Orville.

Chief of security?

Yeah, don't let the
small package fool you.

You can count on her.

Have to be able to count on someone.

How you doing?

Gravity treatments are kicking my ass,

but other than that, pretty good.

I got what you asked for.

You're lucky you guys
are still in one piece here.

The Kaylon usually don't destroy
resistance bases from space.

They want captives to interrogate

for information on other cells.

- Who's the doctor?
- That's me.

This is perfect.

Can you tell me what this is about?

Uh, you probably wouldn't
believe me if I told you.

I've already learned

not to believe
anything you say, but try me.

Lieutenant, they found us.

- Where's your shuttle?
- South of here.

There's a back way out. Go.
We'll lay down cover.

Alara.

We have room for you.

They need me here. Go.

Mercer to Keyali!
We have a Kaylon problem!

We know.

You will surrender.

- You want the top or the bottom?
- I like to be on top.

Grayson to Keyali, you're gonna
have to meet us halfway.

Acknowledged.

There they are.

Hey, kid, what's your name again?

- Ty.
- Ty.

Hey, you see that red button
in front of you?

That's the tractor beam.
When I tell you,

I need you to hit that for me, okay?

Okay.

Get ready, Ty.

Now!

They're in. Let's go.

Mom, I did the tractor beam.

- That's great, Ty.
- Get us out of here.

- Oh, crap.
- What? What's "oh, crap"?

- Quantum drive is off-line.
- Oh, crap.

Hang on.

We can't outrun them.
We need somewhere to hide.

- What about the black hole?
- Are you nuts?

We'll be crushed by the gravity.

Uh, not if we slip
just inside the event horizon.

They won't see us
because light can't escape.

What the hell? Take us in.

Wow.

Turn us 70 degrees to port.

What the hell?

It's time dilation.

This deep inside the
gravity well of a black hole,

time moves more slowly for us
than it does for them.

For every second we're in here,

a couple of hours pass out there.

Come on, give it up.

According to the chronometers,
two full days have passed.

Man. How was your weekend?

Quantum drive is back on line.

Set a course for Earth.

Earth?

What are you talking about?
There is no Earth anymore.

It was destroyed by the Kaylon.

I know. But if we're gonna
recreate the time jump,

we need to access Isaac's files
for the Aronov device,

which are on the Orville.

I thought the Orville was lost.

We took a heavy hit that
plunged us into the atmosphere.

The ship was in freefall,

but a lot of us got out
in the escape pods.

We've been able to calculate the
coordinates of the crash site,

and we think the Orville
is still intact.

Intact where?

At the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Anything?

We've been able to access
part of its memory core.

No tactical information,
but we're still digging.

Okay, keep at it.

Oh, by the way, Ed was asking,

if you could stop by his quarters.

Come in.

What's all this?

Well, I figured, even though
we've been battling the Kaylon

and running for our lives,

this is still technically
our second date.

I've already had
my second date with you.

Second date in this timeline.

Fair enough.

So... what have you been up to
the last seven years?

I've been pretty focused
on my career, actually.

I was commanding officer
of the Epsilon Eridani outpost.

But you wanted your own ship.

I did, yeah... I did.

Got close a couple times.

It probably would've been
only another year or so,

if not for the Kaylon w*r.

You served on some ships, though, yeah?

Yeah. How'd you know that?

I might've looked you up
a couple times.

Couple dozen times.

- You stalked me.
- Idle curiosity.

What was I like in the other timeline?

- You were a perfect gentleman.
- Oh, well, that's boring.

No, you were... you were really sweet.

Well, then why did you end it?
When you went back.

I'd seen what happened to us,

and I thought I had a chance
to save us from it.

Did we hate each other?

No, no, she loved you.

I loved you.

Whoever you want to call it.

We regretted hurting you,

and you regretted hurting us.

You realize, if we succeed...

None of this will ever have happened.

Most of the tactical stuff is protected

by quantum encryption codes,

but... look at this.

What is it?

It's the Kaylon Connectome network.

- Which is?
- You could call it a brain web.

Every Kaylon is connected
to every other Kaylon

through one central computer system.

It's how they communicate.

Is this something we could use
to our advantage?

I don't know.
Give me a little more time,

I might be able
to make some sense of it.

Hey, guys?

Just wanted to let you know,
we're approaching Earth.

My God.

Ed, the moon.

Any life signs?

What about the Orville?

I think I got it.

It's at the bottom
of the Marianas Trench.

- Is it intact?
- It looks that way.

That's seven miles down.

Can we handle that kind of pressure?

Not in this trash heap,

especially with the b*ating we took.

But if we divert enough power
to the deflectors,

a Union shuttle might.

Has anyone ever
tried this in a shuttle?

Not that I know of.

Everybody hold your noses.

I don't even see any fish.

The Kaylon were thorough.

Passing two miles.

Hull pressure 4,690 psi and increasing.

Five and a half miles.

Mama.

Passing six miles.

We should turn around. This is insane.

Wait. Look.

I'm detecting low-level energy output

and minimal life support.

Doors are still open. We're in luck.

Get us in fast.

I've got a link to the main computer.

Pressurizing the bay.

It's scary in here.

Are we the only ones on board?

No. One life sign, five decks above us.

Talla, you want to open
this jar of pickles?

Bortus!

It's us.

My God, that was so unnecessary.

I apologize.
I did not know who you were.

Bortus, man, I can't believe
you're still alive.

It is good to see both of you again.

What happened?

The captain and the first officer

were k*lled in the battle,
so I remained at the helm

to ensure that
all the escape pods launched,

but I could not prevent the crash.

I have been surviving

on minimal life support
and combat rations.

Eesh. Rough cuisine.

Nine months?

My God, it must've been so lonely.

My mate Klyden and my son Topa
escaped in the pods.

If they survived,
they are to meet me on Moclus.

It is that hope which has sustained me.

Bortus...

Moclus was destroyed.

Oh, man, I'm... I'm so sorry.

Look, I know this is gonna sound crazy,

but we may have a chance
to make it right.

Bridge to Lamarr.

What is your status?

We've got partial main power.

Look, you-you got
the wrong guy for this job.

If what I am told is true,

and we are able
to restore the timeline,

then that is your chair.

I've never captained a starship.

Oh, yes, you have.

Sit.

Scans show clear.
No enemy ships in the vicinity.

John, do we have
enough power to ascend?

Barely, Commander,

but we can't stay down here.

Okay.

Helm, maneuvering thrusters
at one quarter.

Aye, sir.

Take us up.

We're not moving.

Maneuvering thrusters to one half.

Come on, baby, fly.

We're up.

Ten meters.

15 meters.

20 meters and climbing.

Five miles to the surface.

Steady as we go.

Engineering, stand by to bring
the main engines online.

Ready here.

Approaching the surface.

Passing through stratosphere.

Switch to sublight engines.

What's the verdict?

It's no good. The file's incomplete.

Isaac never finished the calculations.

Can you fill in the blanks?

Oh, I'm good, but I'm not that good.

It'd take me years to figure it out.

So what do we do?

We need to get inside Isaac's brain.

Isaac is on Kaylon.

When we returned him,
he was disassembled.

But I bet you all
his data still exists.

I have an insane idea.

Hey.

Hey. Drink?

Always.

Do you think John can do it?

He said he'd notify us.
All we can do is wait.

Am I a terrible person

that part of me wants
this timeline to continue?

You're asking the wrong guy.

In the middle of
this nightmare universe,

I've felt this...
weird sense of comfort...

being with you.

Well, maybe we'll fail.

Have to go find someplace
to live in secret.

Some nice little house
on a deserted planet.

We could have a couple kids...
boy and a girl.

We'd have to learn
how to farm, how to cook.

Look at the sunset every night.

Look at you every morning.

You know, Gordon's probably
gonna have to live with us.

Shut up, you're ruining it.

Okay, so there's good news
and there's bad news.

- What's the bad news?
- What's the good news?

I'll give you the good news.

I found an access point into
the Kaylon Connectome network.

I can basically piggyback a scan
once I reactivate

the Kaylon in the lab.

Well, what's to stop it from

sh**ting up the place once you do?

I won't bore you with the details,

but I cut a few wires under the hood.

Now, once I'm in, I got to find Isaac.

What do you mean find him?

Every individual Kaylon
has the equivalent

of a neural identification code.

It's how they know who's who

in all the crisscrossing
signal packets.

I can track him down

and essentially
download his consciousness

into the Kaylon body we have on board.

And once I have Isaac,
I can fill in the missing pieces

from his calculations
and hopefully send Dr. Finn

back to the right point in time.

You said there was bad news.

Yeah. Well,

I'm gonna need total
access to the quantum drive

to power the transfer,

which means we got to be parked,
full stop.

And once I'm in the system,

there's no way to hide it
from the Kaylon.

It'll act like a homing beacon,
screaming out our coordinates.

It will not be long
before they come after us.

So we need to work fast.

Well, then, let's get to it.

- Any luck?
- Uh, not yet.

Come on, where are you?

Hang on.

Yep, that's him.

Okay, here we go. Start the clock.

John Lamarr, what are you doing?

Well, welcome back, handsome.

Whatever your intent, you will fail.

Your intelligence is
far inferior to ours.

Yeah, well, that's why
you're gonna help me out.

And if you don't mind, I'm gonna
pick your brain a little.

Your species' extinction is inevitable.

It would be far more efficient
to surrender.

Not today, my man.

We have found you.

Bridge to captain.

There are four Kaylon vessels
closing off the port bow.

How far out?

Approximately two minutes to intercept.

- John, talk to me.
- Wait a second.

Okay, boom. Got it.

That's enough out of you.

I've input the calculations.

We're ready.

Okay, I got to go to engineering

to feed juice from the quantum drive.

I need you to monitor
the graviton levels.

Let me know if they drop below 1.7 GEV.

We got it. Go.

Boys, I have to say goodbye to you now.

Mom, I don't want you to go.

I know, sweetie.

I don't want to leave, but I have to.

And I'll see you real soon
in a much better place.

- What if it doesn't work?
- It'll work.

I love you both so much.

Kaylon vessels will
intercept in one minute.

Doctor!

Easy, baby. Don't get worked up.

Quantum field is at maximum.

Graviton levels are at 1.46.

Ah, that's too low.

I need another 20%.
Give me whatever you can.

I'm gonna have to
push us past the red line.

Mercer to bridge.

Transfer all power access,

including life support, to engineering.

Aye, sir.

Systems are overloading!

Kaylon ships will intercept
in 31 seconds.

Graviton levels are rising.

It's working.

Okay, that's it.
Now we just got to ride the wave

and hope we don't hit the rocks.

If this doesn't work,
will you marry me?

Yes.

Oh, no.

Coffee.

Claire? What-what are you...

Kelly, the memory wipe didn't work.

I know. But how did you...

Just trust me.

You're gonna go back to sleep.

- What's that?
- The future of the galaxy.

See you real soon.

- Hey.
- Hey.

I hope I'm not calling too early.

Did I wake you up?

No, I was already awake.
What's going on?

Well, um, I know
this goes completely against

the cool guy playbook,

but I had a really great time
with you last night,

and I was wondering if

I could take you out again.

I'd love it.