Battle of Epsilon 2

The enemy Krill destroyer over Epsilon 2.

The **Battle of Epsilon 2** took place between the Planetary Union and the Krill on September 2419 on the surface and in orbit of the planet Epsilon 2. A Krill raid of the Epsilon Science Station to acquire a quantum accelerator quickly escalated to a fever-pitch battle between a Krill destroyer and the USS *Orville*.

The Battle of Epsilon 2 represented one of the first recorded attempts to seed a Krill spy in the Union, but ended in a surprise victory for the significantly weaker Union force.

## Prelude to battle

In the early 25th century, the Epsilon Science Station of Epsilon 2 was renowned as "the Scientists' Playground," a research-minded colony free of typical bureaucratic interests.

Some time in 2418, the Krill military seeded a spy in the station, Doctor Derek Ashton. Around this same time, station physicists, led by Doctor Janice Lee, studying quantum field technologies developed a *quantum accelerator*, a device capable of rapidly aging anything within a "quantum bubble." For the next year, Derek quietly observed station research for the benefit of the Krill, who periodically collect information from Derek by passing by the colony.

Sightings of passing Krill destroyers attracted the attention of colony leadership. Because the Krill military was highly aggressive, many thought their appearances were unrelated to the station's research, but Doctor Aronov, director of the facility, correctly suspected that the Krill knew of their quantum accelerator. To avoid the attention of any unwanted observers, he submitted a false re-supply request for the colony, which was answered by the USS *Orville* in early September 2419.

Aronov explained the value of the accelerator to an Orville ground team consisting of Captain Ed Mercer, Commander Kelly Grayson, Chief of Security Alara Kitan, and Doctor Claire Finn. Crucially, the conversation between the Director and the ground team was witnessed by Derek.

   With the window of opportunity to take the accelerator for the Krill closing, Derek summoned the Krill, who brought a destroyer into the planet's orbit, and took Claire hostage. The prominent Doctor Janice Lee, a physicist responsible for the underlying principles behind the accelerator, attempted to reason with him. Derek panicked and pushed her into the accelerator's active quantum bubble, killing her in seconds. He forced Ed to tell acting captain Bortus not to attack the incoming destroyer.

Alara and Kelly managed to distract and subdue Derek, and Ed immediately signaled Bortus that the destroyer was there to raid the facility. It deployed three shuttles Krill soldiers to raid the facility. A battle ignited on both land and in space: Ed needed to lead his team, Doctor Aronov, and the prototype of the quantum accelerator through the raiding forces while Bortus had to fend off the enemy destroyer.

## Battle

In the Epsilon Science Station, Aronov guided the team from the Physics wing to the exterior where their shuttle sits. Meanwhile, Krill soldiers stormed the facility room-by-room. The ground team managed to elude the soldiers, first by running a circuitous path through lockable doors, and second by Alara breaking open sealed gates, saving them valuable time. They ran out of shortcuts when the party reached a wide, open field between the facility's exit and the resting shuttle. With Krill soldiers guarding the perimeter, the team had no choice but to forcefully cut a path to the shuttle.

Meanwhile, the *Exploratory*-class Orville was forced to contend with a heavier Krill destroyer. The fight began with Bortus and the enemy captain firing tit-for-tat on each other. Recognizing that the ship could never survive a traditional firefight with a destroyer, Helmsman Gordon Malloy and Navigator John LaMarr ran the Orville through a dangerous, risky flight maneuver called "Hugging the Donkey." In this tactic, the Orville quickly circled the larger enemy craft, firing on it while evading the enemy's attacks.

Back on the ground, Ed decided that the safest way to secure the accelerator is to allow Alara to take the device and to use her superior Xelayan strength to bound quickly to the shuttle. This allowed them to get the device into the shuttle and flee in case the rest of the group was captured or killed. The ground team fired on the Krill soldiers, further distracting the enemy from Alara, and cut a path to the shuttle themselves. Ed was struck by a plasma round on the shoulder but the team was otherwise uninjured. The shuttle escaped as enemy Krill fire on it from the ground.

Gordon's bravery in orbit bought the Orville time but the enemy was still able to slowly damage the ship. As the shuttle flew to the Orville, a crucial shot from the Krill wiped out the Orville's helm control. Without control, Gordon was unable to automatically port the incoming shuttle. The shuttle was undergoing troubles of its own. A Krill soldier hidden in the shuttle appeared and demanded the device. Ed unexpectedly toyed with the navigation to knock the soldier into the glass and Alara subdued him. Still without helm control, Bortus commanded Gordon to manually align the ship so that the shuttle could dock. The Helmsman was successful; Ed and Kelly scurried to the Bridge and assume command.

Unfortunately, the Orville's deflectors were depleted. The Krill captain threatened to destroy the Orville along with the accelerator. Kelly's idea was to cede the device with a redwood tree seed inside. When the Krill accepted the accelerator and activated it, the seed erupted into a massive, fully grown tree, destroying most of the ship including its Bridge.

## Aftermath

The Battle of Epsilon 2 was a victory for the Planetary Union but not without costs. The prototype of the quantum accelerator was destroyed and its mastermind, Janice Lee, was dead. Still, the battle saved countless lives and represented a stirring defeat of a superior Krill destroyer by a smaller Union vessel.

Because the battle started on the pretext of a simple resupply mission, many of the Orville's commanders were young or inexperienced. The battle was the first of Ed Mercer and Kelly Grayson's careers as captain and commander, and their first victory. Alara Kitan, who distinguished herself in ground fighting, was only 23 years old.

## Alternate timeline

In an alternate timeline where Ed Mercer did not become captain of the USS *Orville**,* the Orville was captained by Griffith instead. Around September Isaac, Griffith assumed command of the ship alongside First Officer Steve Newton, Second Officer Bortus, Chief Security Officer Alara Kitan, Isaac, and others.

The Orville fought "quite a battle" against a Krill battleship. According to Griffith, his crew "got lucky" and won the fight, and they were able to safely secure the quantum accelerator away from the Krill. After the fight, the USS *Jefferson* rendezvoused with the Orville, and Admiral Ozawa personally visited to examine the quantum accelerator.

## Appearances

* *Episode 1x01: Old Wounds*
* *Episode 1x06: Krill*(mentioned only)
* *Digressions, Pt. 1*

## References

1. ↑ Episode 2x14: The Road Not Taken
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Digressions, Pt. 1