Although Captain Ed and the others had managed to return safely to the Orville with all the important data and the one-of-a-kind experimental device, the crisis still wasn't over.
The Orville still had to face the Quill warship—the destroyer that was engaged in a one-on-one fight with them and outclassed them in every way, from size to weapons to shield strength!
The Orville did have the necessary military and defensive equipment, such as shields and two energy emitters that could serve as its main guns. But everyone knew it hadn't been developed or designed specifically for combat. It was just a medium-sized exploration vessel.
In any case, it was all that clueless Dr. Arnolf's fault!
When he contacted the Planetary Union, he hadn't thought to request a few more supplies. As a result, the Union headquarters had decided that he didn't need much, and sent Ed and his medium-sized exploration ship over on their way to somewhere else. They hadn't considered that they might get caught up in this kind of mess. So now they were in an awkward situation:
The Orville was only a fraction of the enemy's size, and its shields and firepower were only a fraction as strong. Yet it had to face the Quill destroyer one-on-one?
And then...
The worst-case scenario came to pass. Not long after Captain Ed, First Officer Kelly, Annie, and the other three had barely managed to rush into the Orville's hangar amid the chaos, the enemy's main guns destroyed two of the engines at the rear of their ship.
With their shields almost completely collapsed and only one of their three engines barely operational, they were in dire straits. The Quill destroyer's commander, enraged by the inexplicable annihilation of his landing party, issued the Orville an ultimatum: hand over the time