Apparently Mandatory Part II
Posted on Sun Oct 25th, 2026 @ 9:47am by Lieutenant Vura & Maren Malbrooke
Edited on on Sun Oct 25th, 2026 @ 9:47am
2,841 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Episode 18 - The Edge of Darkness
Location: Office of the Chief Counselor - Deck 5 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD003 1600 hrs
“He’ll be looking,” Maren said, and this time there wasn’t even a hint of doubt in it. “He won’t just... stop. Dad doesn’t really do that.” She looked away for a second, jaw tightening before she added, quieter, “I’m all he’s got left.” The words seemed to bother her once they were out, and she pushed on before they could sit there too long. “So yeah, he’ll keep going. Probably until he runs himself into the ground, because apparently that’s a completely normal thing Malbrookes do.” Her mouth twitched, but it didn’t quite become a smile. “He’s gonna be losing his mind.”
"Are you losing yours?" Vura asked concerned. "Being stuck here? No clear path back?" Encouragingly, Vura continued, "I would bet that we are trying everything we can to get you back where you belong." She smiled warmly at Maren and finished, "And you, being a Malbrooke, are probably trying to figure out every which way to get access to get you back to your universe, if I'm not mistaken."
Maren’s expression closed up almost immediately. “I’m not losing my mind.” It came out quicker than she probably meant it to, and she shifted in the chair before adding, “And they already tried. The Herodotus tried to get me back. It didn’t work.” Her mouth twisted. “So now I’m here because apparently putting me on a ship with this Tyler Malbrooke was the next best thing.”
She wasn’t exactly sitting around waiting, either. “Science is going through my shuttle data again, and I’ve been looking into other crossings, anything Starfleet’s got that might not be sitting in the normal database.” Maren hesitated, then gave Vura a faintly guilty look. “And maybe I’ve poked around in a couple of places I wasn’t technically invited into. But if there’s something there that gets me home, I’m not just gonna... not look.”
That came out sharper than she meant it to. Maren looked away for a moment, fingers disappearing into the cuff of her coat. “I mean, what am I supposed to do? Just decide this is it?” Her voice dipped before she caught it. “They couldn’t get me back. Nobody really knows why I came through in the first place, and every answer I get just turns into five more things nobody knows.”
She was quiet for a second, then gave a small shrug that didn’t quite carry the indifference she wanted it to. “So, yeah. I’m looking.” Maren’s mouth tightened before she added, almost as an afterthought, “Because I don’t actually know what I’m supposed to do if the answer ends up being that there isn’t a way back.”
Vura smiled sympathetically at Maren. She was definitely a Malbrooke. However, was it really fair to not expect her to try to get back? Who would want to be isolated from their home forever? Worse, to be isolated in a place where people share the same names, looks, and DNA but are not really the people you knew or understood.
The Counselor considered the problem. Maren would want to get home but also would not want to be an object of pity. She would be in a position of trying to relearn anyone and everyone she knew and their differences, which would have to be awkward. It might be refreshing that Vura herself did not exist in Maren's universe so she only had to know her once.
"Why are you SUPPOSED to do anything?" Vura wondered aloud. She curled a leg underneath herself. She would get to her other questions later, but getting Maren to consider her own words took priority.
Maren blinked at the question, looking at Vura as though she'd just suggested something particularly ridiculous. “Seriously? That's what you got from all that?” There was a little incredulous amusement in her voice, although it didn't entirely hide her frustration. “I'm not saying somebody's given me homework, but what else am I gonna do? Just sit around and hope somebody figures it out?”
She shifted in the chair, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Look, I know people are trying to help. I'm not saying they aren't. It's just...” Maren hesitated, struggling with something that ought to have been a perfectly simple answer. “Where I'm from, if something went wrong, you dealt with it. You didn't really have the luxury of waiting around for somebody else to fix it. And I know it's different here, before you say it.”
Her gaze wandered briefly towards the window before returning to Vura. “Everyone keeps telling me to give things time, and maybe they're right. I mean, this place isn't exactly horrible. People are nice, there's actual food whenever you want it, and nobody's tried shooting me this week, so that's a pretty good start.” A faint smile appeared, though it didn't last quite as long as usual.
“I just...” Maren looked down at her hands, rubbing her thumb across an old scar on one finger. “What if I get used to all this? Like, properly used to it?” She glanced back at Vura, looking distinctly uncomfortable with where her own thoughts had taken her. “I don't want to wake up one morning and realise I've stopped trying to get home.”
Vura nodded understandingly. "Or, perhaps worse, you get used to things here and then you go back and now you're not as guarded and that causes you to get killed, right?"
She smiled at Maren warmly and sympathetically. "You led a tough life back there but these are the tough questions here. My job, Maren, is not to give you the answers. I'm only here to help you find your own. Ultimately, the only right answers are the ones that you find for yourself."
Maren blinked at Vura, her eyebrows climbing. “Wow. Okay. So now I might get myself killed if I actually make it home? That's... reassuring.” She gave a short, incredulous laugh, although the irritation behind it was genuine. “I mean, I get what you're saying. If I'm here for years or something, I might get used to not having to worry about everything trying to kill me. Which would be nice, actually. I'd quite like that.”
She shifted in the chair, drawing one leg closer beneath herself. “But I don't think you just forget seventeen years of that stuff because you've spent a while somewhere safer. It's not exactly a holiday I can come back from and suddenly forget how things work.” Her mouth twisted slightly. “And for the record, tough is putting it pretty mildly.”
The rest of Vura's answer bothered her more, although she took a moment to work out why. “And what's that supposed to mean, the only right answers are the ones I find myself?” Maren frowned, then caught herself before the question became another argument. “Look, I know you can't just tell me how to feel about all this. And you've asked me some stuff I hadn't really thought about before, so... yeah, okay, that's something.”
She glanced away briefly, picking at a loose thread on the cuff of her mother's coat. “But I don't really know what I'm meant to do with any of it.” Her eyes returned to Vura, the earlier indignation having lost some of its energy. “I want to go home. I'm going to keep trying. But I might be stuck here for ages, and I can't spend every waking minute looking for a way back either.”
Maren hesitated, looking faintly annoyed with herself for how difficult the next bit was proving to say. “So how do I actually get on with things here without feeling like I'm giving up on everything back there?”
"Maren, I wish that I had a perfect answer to that question," Vura replied softly. The Counselor leaned forward, unfurling her leg as she did so. "But, I think that the answer is a combination of things. First, you have to learn about here and the differences. Second, you need to build some connections here. In this universe, people rarely succeed doing things on their own. Build friendships. Build a network. Once you do that, you might find someone that could help you or think of something that nobody else had."
The Counselor had an amused thought and started laughing. "Oh, no..." she replied laughing harder. "I don't know that I could do that to either of you...." She put one hand on her belly and another over her mouth barely stifling what was outrageous laughter.
Maren gave a small shrug, considering the advice. “Yeah, okay. I mean, I've met people. There's this girl in Engineering who's pretty cool, and I've been annoying Science and Intelligence, so I'm not exactly sitting in my room being all antisocial.” She paused, pulling a face. “Well, not all the time. And making friends isn't really something you can just... decide to do, is it?”
She was about to say something else when Vura started laughing, which earned her a thoroughly confused look. Maren watched her for a few seconds, eyebrows creeping upwards as the laughter got worse. “Uh... hello? What's so funny?” She glanced over her shoulder before looking back at the counsellor. “Wait, do what to who?”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, although the beginnings of a grin were already betraying her. “Oh, come on! You can't just start laughing to yourself like a complete weirdo and not tell me why.” Maren leaned forward a little. “Is this about me? Because I feel like it's about me, and now I'm slightly concerned.”
Vura's hidden laughter continued into audible giggles. "Oh, my! Oh, my!" Vura's hand covering her mouth revealed a barely contained smirk. "Making friends is something that you can decide to do," Vura replied, her eyes starting to get glassy as she tried to hold back tears of laughter.
"As to why I'm laughing, I just had the most delicious idea but I'm not certain that either of you would survive the experience.... It actually is more about him than you...."
Maren stared at Vura for another few seconds, watching the counsellor practically dissolve into giggles over whatever brilliant idea she'd apparently had. “You are so weird.” She shook her head, although she couldn't quite stop herself grinning. “Seriously, is this what counselling's supposed to be like? Because I feel like I've somehow ended up in the wrong appointment.”
The mention of him caught her attention, though, and her eyebrows drew together. “Wait, who's him?” She leaned forward a little, studying Vura with renewed suspicion. “And what exactly are you planning to do to us? Because you laughing this much about somebody else's suffering is a pretty massive red flag, just saying.”
Her grin widened despite herself. “Come on, spill. You've been laughing at your own joke for, like, five minutes. I wanna know who's about to have a really bad day.”
Vura asked "What did you think counseling was supposed to be like? Did you want me to do some glorious examination of your cranium and tell you all that I think could be improved about you?" She laughed prettily. "That is not how it works. Besides, each counselor has their own personality and beliefs. Try a Vulcan counselor. They will logic you to death or a Betazoid one who might incessantly bug you about feelings they can feel eminating off of you."
The counselor leaned in and said, "There is no right way to counsel. The only thing we're here to to do is listen and help as you might desire it. Nobody changes without putting work in. I could give you all of the advice in the world but if you're not willing to take it, you're only going to get the same results that you got before."
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Now, right now, you're a bit guarded and certainly a bit jaded, regardless of how charming I might view you. Besides, I think I've given you all the wisdom that you might be willing to hear today. That said, I will give you the person's name that I've been thinking about. He could be a help to you. But maybe not. He is a wiz of an engineer, so all the records say. However, he has a difficult time talking to women. The prettier they are, the more he hides himself. His name is Connor Turner. He's an ensign."
She laughed again. "He nearly collapsed when he glanced in my direction while he was changing a panel in my office. He could not even manage a word with me. So, do you now see why I find this amusing?"
Maren gave Vura a look. “Wow. So that's it? I've used up my wisdom allowance for today?” She couldn't help grinning. “Okay, fine. I suppose I have been here a while. Didn't realise I was that much work, though.”
She wasn't entirely sure what to make of the assessment that she was guarded and jaded, but she'd already spent enough of the afternoon arguing with the woman. Besides, Vura had managed to get her talking about things she'd had absolutely no intention of discussing when she walked in.
The explanation about Connor, however, had her staring for a moment before she started laughing herself. “Wait, seriously? Some poor guy nearly faints because he looks at you, and you've been sitting there imagining what he'd do if he met me?” She shook her head, looking thoroughly entertained. “Oh my God, that's actually so mean! What's he ever done to you?”
Maren was still grinning as she settled back in the chair. “Although, if he's that good at engineering, he can't be all bad. And who knows? Maybe he'd be completely normal around me.” She paused, then gave Vura a cheeky look. “I mean, probably. You never know.”
She glanced towards the door, then back at Vura. “Anyway... thanks, I guess. For listening and stuff.” Her smile softened a little. “Some of it actually helped. Even if you're a complete weirdo.”
Maren started to get up, then stopped, a sudden thought crossing her face. “Hang on. This does count as me attending, right? Because if that stupid computer tells me I missed my appointment after all this, I'm actually gonna lose it.”
Vura laughed when Maren suggested that Connor would be normal around her. Connor would likely run in the opposite direction. However, it was always good for one to have hope.
"First, yes, this counts. Why would it not count? Do you think I would say otherwise? Now, I'll want to see you again, so there's that which you have to look forward to," Vura replied with a smile. "Now, if the computer disagrees and Connor does not die, if you go to meet him, then I'm certain he would find a solution to the problem.
"As to being a 'weirdo,' exactly what is normal? And who would want to be that, anyways? Normal is boring. It is average. Is that what you want for yourself? Or would you rather be a weirdo, too?" Vura asked. She then added, "I suspect that you would not want to be my kind of weird, though."
The Counselor smiled understandingly at Maren. "However, to the extent that I have assisted, you're welcome. I will always be here for you."
Maren gave Vura an exaggerated look of horror. “Wait, \again?\ Oh, brilliant. Can't wait.” She grinned, though. “And you're seriously overthinking the weird thing. I meant you laughing your head off about some poor guy in Engineering. That's weird. I'm already weird enough without your help, thanks.”
She got to her feet, slipping her hands into the pockets of her mother's coat. “Anyway, I should go. And... thanks. This wasn't actually as bad as I thought it'd be.” She gave Vura a small, genuine smile before heading towards the door.
“Oh, and try not to come up with any more evil plans before next time, yeah?” Maren glanced back with a cheeky grin.
With a little wave, she disappeared into the corridor.
Vura laughed prettily as she watched Maren leave. Vura had to say that she genuinely liked Maren. She was a good kid and better adjusted than probably she would be in a similar situation. She would have to pay some more attention to Maren and make certain that she stayed alright. People had a strange way of regressing when the doldrums of situations occurred.
A Joint Post By
Maren Malbrooke
Civilian, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Vura
Chief Counselor, USS Pioneer
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