Sirius Sparring with a Pearl of Wisdom

Posted on Wed Nov 4th, 2026 @ 9:45pm by Ensign Henry Taylor & Tessa di'Orion

3,203 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Interim 3: Subspace Drift
Location: The Pearl of Sirius
Timeline: En Route to Earth

Henry had size and strength. Tessa had speed, skill and confidence. While Henry’s skills had consistently improved, Tessa was still the better swordsman, and she did not hold back reminding him of that when they sparred.

He’d gotten particularly good at parrying her attacks. The way he figured it, defend until she made a mistake or got tired, then move in for an attack. It wasn’t a bad strategy, per se, but it was based on a human perspective, and ignored the fact that Tessa’s well-trained Tialan stamina was superior to humans. Plus, he wasn’t losing fast enough, which was pissing her off and increasing her determination to best him.

The crack of wood on wood echoed repeatedly in the workout room they’d booked as Tessa danced around him, swinging her training sword as hard as she could. He spared half a thought to pat himself on the back for learning to keep up with her. He was getting better at anticipating her next move and coming up with a countermeasure.

Then, he saw it: his opening. She dropped her arm as she attempted to swing around for a more powerful blow. He stepped to the side, missing her swipe and brought his sword down and against the back of her leg, hitting her knee and knocking her onto her back.

He stopped cold as she let out a cry of pain, grabbing her knee. “Oh shit,” he said, standing over her, looking at her with concern. “Angel, are you okay?”

His brain had barely acknowledged the look on her face and the sudden swipe of her leg as he felt his own legs knocked out from under him and he landed on his back, his sword flying out of his hand and clattering towards the other side of the room. He felt the wind knocked out of him as he landed next to her, coughing and gasping. He let out a grunt as he felt her pounce on him, her sword at his throat.

Tessa had rolled up and planted on knee on his midsection as the tip of her blade touched the mat, sword angled across his neck. In a real fight, if Henry wouldn't surrender, if he tried to do anything to throw her off, he would be dead before he finished the move, "And this is why you finish your opponent, not rush to their aid, Henry." She grinned at him before she stood on two perfectly fine knees and reached down to him to help him up.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Henry drawled, taking her hand and standing up, then bringing his hand down sharply on her rear. “Can we at least agree I’m getting better?”

She jumped as she yelped, then raised her own hand to smack him back, but stopped before she actually swung it, wagging one finger at him in warning with a look before she rubbed her rear end where he'd hit. "Disgustingly better," Tessa admitted. "It's getting harder and harder to hit you, what with your extra dumb height and when you're trying to defend rather than attack. You're making me take more and more risks, then taking advantage of me when I DO that!" She paused for half a heartbeat, "I'm proud of you!"

He grinned and rubbed her sore cheek affectionately, leaning down and kissing her. "Those words make it all worth it," he said, warmly.

"Don't get too cocky; a freshly escalated War Priest would still kick your butt from here to... Wherever, but you have made massive strides." Tessa accepted another kiss from him before she stepped back and flourished her sword in a circle, clearly ready to keep going, "Care to try again?"

"Maybe give me a moment to reinflate my lungs," Henry said, walking over slowly and picking up his sword. "Besides," he said, grinning, "I thought maybe we could go back to our room, take a nice warm shower and then I could rub your back until you purr." He walked back over and leaned down again, nuzzling her neck. "Plus, we need to talk about our itinerary when we get to Earth."

"Or maybe change into something else and go down to the pool deck and use the hot tub? Or maybe the sauna?" Tessa sighed in anticipation of the hot water or just the overwhelming heat on her muscles, "Those would get us nice and relaxed."

"Tessa," Henry said, his voice hesitant. "In the first trimester that is extremely dangerous. The twins' brains and spinal cords are forming and high temperatures could cause serious complications."

The look on Tessa's face was one of betrayal and sadness, but not directed at Henry, "But... But Tialans RUN hot! I've got a natural temperature two degrees higher than you, and, and, and, and the hot water would feel SO good!" She crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks out.

Henry knew that look, but she'd come up against one of the few things Henry couldn't be swayed on: the well-being of his children. "Tessa," he said, his voice firm, "when we agued about maintaining our sex life at the risk of your phosphorous levels, I yielded to your judgement. When we argued about continuing sparring, I yielded to your judgement. This time? As one medical professional to another, as your partner, as the father of your children, I am putting my foot down."

"Then I wish I wasn't pregnant!" Before she even finished the sentence, Tessa knew that she had gone WAY too far and instant tears sprung into her eyes as she dropped the wooden sword and threw her arms around Henry, "I didn't mean that, I promise, GODS know I didn't mean that Henry, I'm sorry, I didn't.."

Henry didn't put his arms around her immediately. He was trying to process what she said. "Tessa," he finally said, his voice quiet, "that was...unworthy of you."

Tears fell freely as she buried her face in his chest, squeezing even harder with her arms, "I know, and I REALLY didn't mean to say it, I just..." Tessa sniffed hard, unable to look up to meet his eyes, "I'm so sorry, Henry, I was just.. I didn't.." She started sobbing into him.

"I know you didn't mean it," he said, his voice flat. "That's what upsets me. If you'd meant it, I would be crushed, but we would talk it out. Not meaning it means you were lashing out, and you did that either to hurt me, which I know you would never do, or because you're upset for some reason. I want to know that reason. Tell me it's Tialan mood swings, tell me it's a lack of proper sleep since we got here, tell me it's resentment at me for something. Whatever you tell me, I will believe you, because I have put complete faith in you being honest with me. Please don't make that faith misplaced." He looked at her expectantly.

"I don't know!" Tessa wailed into him as she kept sobbing.

He pulled her arms from around him and stepped her back, cupping her cheek. "Tessa," he said, "tell me."

As he pried her off of him, Tessa shook her head and tried to cling on even more, the tears that were being absorbed by his shirt now streaming down her face, "I don't know why!" She repeated, "I'm overWHELMED with everything going on, I have to be a mother and think about everything going on, be your Tessa, be The Baroness, be the warrior, the medic; All of this with hormones I've never had to deal with before; And worrying about my phosphorous levels; and, and, and-"

This time, he cut her off by pulling her back against him, and finally wrapping his arms around her, holding her to him. "Angel," he said gently, "I love you, and there is nothing you have to do to be mine other than keep being yourself. You are already a warrior and a healer of extraordinary talent, at least as far as my extremely biased opinion is concerned." He smiled down at her, rubbing her back. "And you are going to make a wonderful mother. We're on that journey together, and I'm just as scared as you are, but I know as long as I have you, we'll get through it."

"There's just too MUCH going on for me." Tessa cried into him again, starting to settle down now that she felt his arms around her again. She hadn't lost him. "Back at home, I'd have attendants and advisors and protectors and no real worries..." Her shoulders stopped heaving as she stopped outright sobbing, "I guess I'm also a spoiled brat..." She ended.

"But you're my brat," he teased, smiling. "And you have myself and a crew of friends ready to help you. All you have to do is ask." He knelt down on one knee and took her hands, kissing each one and looking up at her. "How may I help you, Baroness?"

"Take me home." Tessa said outright, lower lip quivering, "Not Tial, I mean our room here, I know you can't make the ship turn around and we're already on the way to Earth.... I'll behave, I promise I won't say hurtful things anymore, if I can help it."

"So long as you promise not to say things that aren't true, we'll deal with hurtful," Henry said. He stood up and kept an arm around her, walking her out of the workout room and back towards their cabin. A few of the attendants saw her and began walking towards them, but Henry waved them off, keeping her close.

As they stepped into the quiet atmosphere of their room, he pulled her in for another hug. "You are not a spoiled brat, you know," he said finally. "You have earned every tattoo, you've earned every recognition in your file, and you have thoroughly and irreversibly ensnared my heart and soul forever. And, you did it all without a personal staff. You are a force of nature, Tessa'e'Sera di'Orion, and these challenges will all be conquered by you, I assure you."

Her lip was in full blown quiver-mode again and she sprung another leak from both of her eyes as she started to bawl loudly again, "This time it really is the hormones!" She wailed as she squeezed him tight, "Stop being so sappy!"

"As you command, Your Grace," he said, sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her to the shower.

---

Forty-five minutes later, clean and dry, Tessa was laid out nude on the bed that was more the proper size for the two of them, ‘California King size’ they had called it, and Henry was straddling her nude form, his hands working through her tension. She sighed heavily as one knot was undone. “I’m trying to do too much, aren’t I?” Tessa asked him as she craned her neck to try to look at him and only getting him out of the corner of her eye. “I don’t know how to slow down though. There’s just so much I need to learn, not enough time in the day… I wish I had been born on one of the Federation worlds, then I’d have learned it all as I grew up.”

"And you wouldn't be a warrior, wouldn't be a Baroness," Henry pointed out. "Might still be a brat, though," he teased, squeezing her rear affectionately. He moved to lie down beside her, pulling her into his arms and curling up next to her. "But then, we'd also never have met, and you wouldn't be my Tessa. That is a timeline I can't envision. That Henry must be so miserable," he said, his voice sad. He kissed her cheek and rubbed her back gently. "I think," he said after a moment, "a fairer criticism is that you are trying to do too much at once. You're feeling the pressure of your various titles and such every day, but they're not necessarily a priority every day."

"But how not?" Tessa asked him, "I can't just not the Baroness, or everything else that's on my plate."

"Look at it like this," he said. "Kally arranged your training in the other departments on board. Did she assign every department every day?"

"No, because then I'd be spending all my time going from one place to another instead of learning things."'

"Exactly," he said. "She arranged a schedule that allowed you to continue your medical studies, but gradually learn other departments. Everything eventually gets addressed over the course of the week, but not everything at once."

"But everything still needs to be done..." Tessa half-whined, but snuggled back into him even more, "What do you suggest."

"So let's take a page out of that book and organize these concerns. Humans consider parenting a full-time job, and god knows it is," he said. "But right now, so long as your pre-natal appointments are met, and your phosphorous levels are high enough, there's little else for you to do other than not putting yourself needlessly in harm's way. And you aren't alone in that; you have me, Kally, and an entire medical staff watching out for you. The computer has books on parenting and childcare and anything else we could want to learn about, and we have months to learn. So we pick a day and we read together and discuss your needs."

"That sounds like a good plan, you know I really enjoy reading with you. We'll definitely keep up with my appointments, because I don't think I could get away from them even if I wanted to, which I don't." She chuckled, "Working in sickbay has that sort of advantage."

"As for your barony, as you say, your mother is handling the major affairs. If there are things you wish to say or do about it, we schedule a day to sit and write a letter to her; we make time to get your thoughts and concerns out. And we have a database detailing the history of thousands of governments if you want either inspiration or cautionary tales. Whatever you want to learn, we can make time for it."

He kissed her neck gently. "And I will continue to subject myself to your beatings, poking, and thoroughly unfair trickery and take whatever bruises give me, if it means I can make you, oh great warrior, proud of me. And at the end of the day, I will kiss you, hold you and be happy that you're my Tessa and that we've had another day together." He gave her a gentle squeeze. "There's time, Angel. A little planning ahead, and a little more use of your support system, and I think you'll find a lot of the pressure will leave you."

"Actually, Henry..." Tessa demurred, twisting in his arms so she could fave him, "There's something that I should probably tell you." She blinked up at him with those cornflower blue eyes sweetly.

Internally, Henry sighed. No conversation with a girlfriend ever started off well for a boyfriend that way.

"I was talking with Rala before we left, and she was the one that suggested it... So I sent a message via the subspace relays back home to Mother." She bit her lip as she gave a tentative smile, "And... I asked her to send out an attendant to help with the twins."

Henry paused. "An attendant...like a nanny? Someone to help change diapers and help with naptimes?"

"Exactly!" Tessa said excitedly, "So if we're both busy in medical, there's someone to take care of those things, and to watch them when the ship goes into combat so that we don't have to worry so much." She leaned up to give him a brief kiss, "Handle the worst parts of things."

He thought about it for a moment. "All right," he said. "After the twins have arrived and our leave is over, I suppose having some backup wouldn't be a bad idea." He hugged her tighter. "Hopefully she won't be overwhelmed by the culture shock."

"If we're lucky, they may be here before we get back..." Tessa trailed off, "It would be difficult for them to catch up to us after, unless we're going back that direction. And since I sent the message yesterday, a week or so to get there, then Mother will send the fastest ship they have with them, so it'll give them two months to get to the ship, soooo."

Henry let out a breath. A second Tialan on board again. Hopefully actually chosen by her mother and not by Cass, he thought, but knew better than to say that out loud. "Well, that will give her some time to acclimate before the twins arrive," he said at last. He kissed her forehead. He wanted to tell her about the message he'd sent to her mother previously, but decided to hold off on the surprise. If anything, both their messages would be resolved at the same time.

"You know," he said, "we still haven't discussed Earth. Before we rush to Ohio, was there anything else that caught your eye?"

"Disneyland?" Tessa asked with light in her eyes, "Maybe see if we can go to that castle place and see the princesses again?"

Henry grinned. "I'll add it to the list," he said. "I thought you might appreciate some of our more historic sites as well. See where we came from and what we've built before we got all this fancy technology. Maybe even see some of our tapestries and crests and see how they compare."

"That would be great too! I can't imagine they're as old as the ones on Tial, but if it's before the technology you all have now, then there should be some good similarities!" Tessa said brightly, "And I have presents for your family packed away, I didn't tell you about them because I wanted them to be a surprise! "

"That was very sweet of you; you didn't have to do that," Henry said, now realizing he hadn't gotten his niece nor the rest of his family anything. Maybe the ship has a gift shop, he thought. "Well if they're as thoughtful as my birthday, I'm sure my family will love them," he added, smiling.

"Well, I want them to get to know me for me, and I'm SURE your niece is going to love hers!" Tessa was very proud to be able to share her traditions with her new family. The gifts had been selected from her personal items with a lot of care.

"They are going to adore you," Henry said. "Not as much as I do, but still, plenty." He grinned and kissed her, squeezing her rear.

Tessa gave a low moan into the kiss and suddenly shoved Henry hard onto his back as she leapt onto him. He wanted to play this game, she was all too willing.

And all in a much more comfortable bed.

 

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