Stepping Through A Door
Posted on Fri Jul 18th, 2025 @ 6:57am by Lieutenant Siadra Molaur & Lt JG Adalyn O'Rourke Ph.D.
Edited on on Tue Jul 22nd, 2025 @ 4:56pm
1,605 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Episode 2 - The Sins of History
Location: Counselor's Office - Deck 9 - USS Artemis
Timeline: MD011 1300 hrs
Siadra had only caught glimpses of Adalyn O'Rourke during large meetings and a brief lunch that she had been a part of. For some reason there had just seemed to be no time to go see her, or was there another underlying issue that made her not want to visit with Adalyn. Now though, there seemed to have some time, maybe it would be a good idea, still feeling haunted by the fact of Abe having been shot and the same for Griffin. A shudder went through her, that memory seared in her mind. Tapping on her combadge, Siadra sent out a message, "Lieutenant O'Rourke, do you have a few minutes to spare? I'd like to visit with you."
Adalyn‘s response was immediate. “Absolutely. I’m free now if you would like to come by? You’d be sparing me another hour pouring over my notes about the current case.“ O’Rourke was always glad to meet with members of the crew individually, and though she was only joking, she appreciated the variety job truly gave her.
"I will be there shortly." Siadra closing the communications. True to her word, the door to Adelyn's office opened and in stepped Siadra. "Hello there." a warm and congenial smile.
“Hello,” Adalyn greeted warmly in turn, gesturing for the other woman to come in fully and make herself comfortable. With practice ease, O’Rourke managed a passive scan with her eyes, looking for any signs of distress or concern. She would be happy to talk with Siadra about anything, but naturally wondered if something was bothering her.
"Well ever since I have been on this ship, I had seen another counselor but not you. Therefore here I am." Siadra giving a smile.
“Oh?“ Adalyn replied, her tone one of curiosity and slight confusion. “ Were you dissatisfied with your previous counselor?”
"No I was not, they ended up leaving. Now here we are." Siadra responded. "And I am here also to talk." she swallowed hard. "Talk about losses due to this current mission about Vamcet." the trill woman taking a seat upon a nearby chair.
Adalyn nodded sympathetically. “You’re not alone. Many of the crew have strong feelings about this particular case, even if they themselves did not live through the Occupation. What’s on your mind and heart?“
"A friend of mine and was the former XO, he came down to save us all, but got severely injured. It hurt greatly, and then there was the other officer who got caught in the firefight as well. It just hits me in the heart terribly. I want to go yell at Vamcet, tell him how horrible he was and I want to blame him for what has happened, tearing a crew asunder just to bring him to justice. Would it even make any difference?" Siadra drew in a shaky breath.
“I suppose that depends on your goal,“ Adalyn answered. “Nothing can change what happened, but maybe that isn’t what’s driving you. Maybe it’s enough to tend to your own mental health by expressing yourself in whatever manner and place you feel it necessary.“
"That's the thing, I feel it would be a waste of energy, as he isn't worth expending it. He's done a lot of harm though. Maybe I do need to just look at him, take a moment to feel satisfaction seeing him behind bars." Siadra trying to piece together at how she was feeling.
“It seems your mind and heart are at war,“ O’Rourke remarked. “I can understand not wanting to expend your energy on him, but is that what you would be doing? Could there be another way to look at it?”
"Possibly but I don't quite know how to look at it. And yes as you said my mind and heart is at war. I just want to be professional and not do things too emotional. I've not truly faced a war criminal, before on the scale that Vamcet is on." Siadra letting out a frustrated huff at the turmoil of her feelings.
“I think that’s true for many of us,“ Adalyn replied. “For that, I think most of us are grateful. You mentioned you don’t want to be too emotional and you want to make sure you’re behaving professionally. What do you envision you might do that would be too emotional or unprofessional?“ Sometimes addressing fears in healthy ways was about identifying worst case scenarios.
"It is more of yelling at Vamcet as to him being the cause of so many deaths, and pain that he has inflicted upon others. And I want to give blame upon him as for those who are now gone from the ship. That though wouldn't be good. He wasn't there, when we went to find information as to where he was. Would that truly be productive to just vent at him? It would be more, to me a waste of energy just to vent at him. I don't think it would be healthy to do such." Siadra adjusting herself.
Adalyn’s obligation was not to agree or disagree with anyone’s conclusions, but instead to help people find what was best for them. “It sounds like you know what you don’t want to do, but what would be a healthy way to move forward in your view?“
"Well maybe actually just visit and get a sense of who he is. I do wish to do that. Hold a conversation if there is one that is initiated. That is how I will view it as such." Siadra giving a firm nod.
“It sounds like you’ve made up your mind,“ Adalyn agreed. “I would only caution you to think about your goals for such a meeting. It’s possible you will not get a sense of who he is even if he does speak with you, and in the process, you might become more upset. I don’t wish that for you and I don’t know that that will happen, I’m just trying to offer some sense of caution and protection. I know you’re an adult, but I wouldn’t be a very good counselor if I didn’t look out for the crew’s emotional well-being even so.”
"I do appreciate you being here and be a listening ear to hear our troubled thoughts. Thank you. Now though, I'd like to find out more about you." Siadra giving a bit of a chuckle. "What do you do when you actually have some personal time off?"
Sure it was a shift around but Siadra honestly wanted to know more about Adalyn.
"Time off?" Adalyn feigned confusion. "What's that?" More seriously, she added, "I like to read, eat well, exercise a little, mostly anything that satisfies my curiosity, I suppose. You?"
" I make clothing, something of stress relief. As i do like to work with my hands. And it stems from Molaur's former host. Keema was her name, she was rather handy when it came to making clothing. She was even a weaver, making her own cloth." Siadra giving a smile.
“That’s amazing,“ Adalyn replied. “I can only imagine the advantages and challenges that come with carrying so many memories and different experiences.“
"It can get interesting when at times the voices of the hosts like to talk to me, and give me advice." Siadra giving a chuckle, "I don't mind at all."
“What you’re describing sounds like having 1 million family members, each with their own personalities and experiences, trying to give you advice,“ Adalyn replied. “I could have that all wrong, but that’s the image I have in my head,“ she added with a chuckle. “I’m glad you don’t mind, but I’m curious, was that always true or was there a period of adjustment?”
"There was a period of adjustment, I had to see if they were all willing for me to be the new host. There wasn't much time though, still all of them were agreeable in having me be the recipient. I got to meet them before the joining." Siadra giving a smile.
“That’s amazing,“ Adalyn replied sincerely. “I could talk to you about this all day long, I’m sure, but it’s not fair for me to keep you here any longer than you may want to be here. Is there anything else on your heart and mind that I can assist you with?“ O’Rourke wasn’t trying to push her out the door, only to give her the opportunity to exit gracefully if she had other things to do. It would be unfair of Adalyn to use her position as a counselor to keep others hostage, even if she was well meaning.
"Why don't we, talk more later and you can ask questions sound good? Maybe over a meal. I don't mind. And I get to learn more about you. Fair trade?" Siadra giving a smile.
“You have a deal,“ Adalyn replied enthusiastically. “It will be nice to focus on more than just this case eventually.“
"I highly agree." Siadra giving a sunny smile. This was a good talk with the Counselor and it did make the chief scientist feel better.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Siadra Molaur
Chief Forensic Science Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Junior Grade Adalyn O'Rourke
Ship's Counselor/Profiler, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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