According to Admiral Tom Halsey , Bortus served on the Orville under a previous captain as second officer prior to Ed Mercer assuming command. The separation was brief and the two later reunited after Klyden realized the wrongness of his beliefs and apologized to Topa.
Bortus was probably very young during his time aboard the Orville compared to species such as humans. Helmsman Gordon Malloy stated that Bortus in the year was in the middle of puberty. Bortus grew up on the planet Moclus. As a child, he selected a steep cliffside as his n'kafas for his yearly " Great Release. As a young man, Bortus served in the Moclan Fleet , stationed on the same ship as Locar , an engineer.
When their ship visited Theta Draconis 4 , Bortus - as the juniormost officer - stood watch while most of the crew, including Locar, took shore leave. However, the ship's captain let Bortus leave to surprise Locar. Bortus found Locar with a Thetan woman. The two broke up soon after.
Bortus dated his future mate Klyden on Moclus. They became mates some time in the year Claire Finn later implies that Bortus was, and is, the only Moclan officer on the ship. Bortus meets the new captain of the Orville, Ed Mercer, in September , and Bortus quickly establishes himself as a competent Second Officer, even successfully leading the Orville in combat as acting commander several times.
Bortus is put in the captain's chair only several days after meeting his new superior officers, Mercer and Commander Kelly Grayson. After Mercer and Grayson take an away team to the surface of the planet Epsilon 2 , Bortus guides the Orville through a difficult battle with a significantly stronger Krill destroyer. In order to survive the fight, Bortus is forced to utilize several highly unusual and dangerous flight maneuvers: first authorizing Helmsman Gordon Malloy to " hug the donkey ," a tactic used to distract the enemy from the ground team, and later to align the Shuttle Bay doors so that the ground team's shuttle could enter the ship safely, a second risky maneuver.
