Ozawa

Ozawa
Affiliation	Planetary Union
Rank	Admiral
Portrayed by	Kelly Hu
First Seen	Krill
Biographical information
Age	Unknown
Status	Alive
Physical description
Species	Human
Gender	Female

Ozawa was a human admiral and commander of the flagship vessel USS Olympia.

Career

Mission to infiltrate the Krill

Around late December 2419, Ozawa rendezvoused with the USS Orville after the latter defeated a Krill destroyer Kakov while defending a newly established Union colony on Kastra 4. The Orville had recovered a perfectly intact shuttle from the wreckage—a rare discovery as shuttles tended to be destroyed along with their host vessel.

Rather than forwarding the shuttle to Planetary Union headquarters, Ozawa gave Captain Ed Mercer and Helmsman Gordon Malloy of the Orville a unique mission: to infiltrate a Krill warship with the intention of obtaining a copy of their holy book, the Anhkana. Though the Ankhana was stored in every Krill ship, the Union never managed to procure one of their own, and obtaining a copy would allow Union command to better understand the motivations of the highly religious Krill.

The Admiral's mission was an unrivaled success. Not only were Ed and Gordon able to obtain a copy from the Yakar, but managed to capture and retrieve the entire destroyer as well.

Multiphasic Planet

Around April 2420, the Orville unintentionally encountered a mysterious planet locked in a multiphasic orbit. The planet was the first of its kind: its orbit ran through two universes around a star existing simultaneously in both. Ed reported the discovery to Admiral Ozawa, who ordered the Orville to study the planet for the next 72 hours until a Science-class vessel could be deployed. However, Ed declined to report that his first officer, Kelly Grayson, made contact with the planet's people by healing an injured girl with a dermoscanner.

Ed's omission proved disastrous. The planet's inhabitants and culture evolved significantly over the course of 11 days. The planet's time moved much faster in the other universe, and roughly 700 years had elapsed on the planet's surface. The next time the planet appeared, Grayson had become a central figure of worship known to them as the deity Kelly.

Ozawa was furious with Ed for concealing her contact with the planet's natives, and nearly considers stripping him of rank and command, but she demurred because first contact was unintentional. She placed a formal letter of reprimand in his file, and ordered the Orville to avoid further contact with the natives until they achieve the technology for space flight, which she expected to occur in less than a month.

Ozawa's orders were disobeyed. Kelly unsuccessfully attempts to end belief in Kelly by explaining the circumstances to the people, and Science and Engineering Officer Isaac lives among the people for 700 years in an unsuccessful attempt to do the same. Ultimately, the inhabitants lost belief in Kelly on their own.

Council hearing over The Sanctuary

In 2421, a secretive colony of Moclan females known as "The Sanctuary" petitioned the Planetary Union Council for recognition as a sovereign state. Sovereignty would protect them from Moclus' forced "corrective procedure" to transition them the male sex.

Ozawa conferred with other human admirals - Perry, Tucker, and Halsey - and Captain Mercer in closed-door deliberations. Ozawa was most cautious about voting against Moclus and recognizing The Sanctuary, stating, "We cannot judge other cultures purely by human standards."

Alibar

Ozawa contacts the Orville regarding the Alibar.

In July 2421, Ozawa learned the Orville had intercepted eight Krill destroyers heading through Union space to destroy a mysterious structure in the independent Alibar system, which had left the Union 20 years prior. The Krill government had granted the Union two days to determine the structure's purpose, Ozawa delegated that task to Ed. She also gave the Orville permission to assist the Krill in destroying the structure should it prove a threat to the Union.

Quantum weapon

Ozawa was one of three admirals, along with Halsey and Perry, who met with a contingent from the Orville after they used a new quantum weapon to obliterate a number of Kaylon vessels. She questioned whether any Union ships could be affected by the device, but Isaac and Charly Burke ensured her that only Kaylon ships could be affected due to the device targeting the synchronization matrix utilized by the Kaylons. She also asked why Isaac's systems had not been damaged and he explained that he was no longer connected to the matrix. Afterwards, Perry proposed building a larger version of the weapon that could be used to completely obliterate the Kaylons. Ed Mercer described this as genocide, but she asked if it was really genocide if they were using the weapon to prevent the Kaylons from killing every other living species. Ultimately, the matter was left to the Planetary Union Council, who opted to employ the weapon as a deterrent.

Alternate timeline

In an alternate timeline where Ed Mercer never became captain of the USS Orville and the Kaylon won the Battle of Earth, Ozawa was aboard the USS Jefferson in September 2419 when the Orville (under the command of Captain Griffith) won the Battle of Epsilon 2 and secured the quantum accelerator. Ozawa directed the Jefferson, led by Captain Mosley, to rendezvous with the ship, and she visited the Orville by shuttle.

Production

Auditions were held for "an older woman," so actress Kelly Hu added white streaks to her hair with a marker.

Female Admiral costume sketch

Female Admiral costume sketch

Trivia

• Her name is possibly a reference to Vice-Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War 2, recognized by military historians as one of Japan's most capable fleet commanders.
• She catches Ed mocking her voice when he forgets to close the communication channel to her office. He pleads with her for "mercy" before she ends the call herself.

Appearances

• Episode 1x06: Krill
• Episode 1x12: Mad Idolatry
• Episode 2x02: Primal Urges
• Episode 2x12: Sanctuary
• Episode 2.5x01: Launch Day, Pt. 1
• Episode 3x06: Twice in a Lifetime
• Episode3x08: Midnight Blue
• Digressions, Pt. 1
• Episode 3x09: Domino