The Long Overdue Debrief

Posted on Tue Sep 23rd, 2025 @ 5:56am by Lieutenant JG Kally Kellerman & Cass'e'Indira

Mission: A Princess Of Tial
Location: Light’s End, Tial
Timeline: Concurrent with Twin Talk

For the first time in a long time, Cass’e’Indira let out a long breath and walked away from the door to Tessa’s set of rooms fully content in the security of her protected. Ever since their ship had been attacked and then taken captive, she had been the only one to guard the person of Tessa’e’Sera and now it felt foreign to not be in the young lady’s presence, or within shouting distance at least. The two guards at the door, plus the one inside should be sufficient, however, to make sure that the little lady didn’t get off into some mischief, though she’d seemed worn out from their arrival home. Now there was one other task before she could go get some well-deserved rest of her own: a reckoning.

Sera had just returned to her rooms after leaving Tessa to rest. Her daughter was still not back to normal, but the trauma of a kidnapping can last for some time, Sera knew. The knock at her door offered a welcome distraction from her worry over her daughter. "Enter," she said.

With practiced ease, Cass opened the door and stepped past the the pair of guards that were there, one following her inside as was the tradition whenever the Baroness was receiving someone, even one of their own. “Your Grace, you requested my presence once Lady Tessa was in for the evening.” She stated in the ‘usual’ formula. It had been a long time, but tradition didn’t fade easily.

Sera smiled serenely. "Indeed, I did. I am eager to hear of what happened while you were away." She looked at the guard behind Cass and, with a flick of her eyes, dismissed him, her own two guards sufficient for the formality of protecting her in her own home. She sat down in a chair, her posture perfectly formal and comfortable. "Please, sit," she said, gesturing to a chair opposite her, "and regale me."

Cass sat down on the edge of the chair, stiff and formal still aware of the one that had yet to leave the room, “Of course, Your Grace.” She stated simply, “Up until we were attacked, the mission was as planned, with no contact. After Lady Tessa was captured, we resisted as best we could, but there was little I could do except assure my own death and leave Her Grace unprotected entirely. We maintained proximity aside from some small separations until Captain Skyie rescued us from the world called Trarim.”

That was when Cass took a breath and exhaled deeply, “And then everything changed. There was no hint of malice from these Federation people, no demand of ransom or secrets, it’s as if they would willingly give away their own in the name of helping others. They took us in without any regard for payment, protecting us even when they too were assaulted, though at least there I was able to assist with Lady Tessa in support."

Sera nodded, smiling. "Tessa spoke very highly of them. Evidently their generosity and good nature made quite an impression on her. I'm curious, though, how did you spend your time? I'd imagine Tessa must have been climbing the walls waiting to get home."

“I used her as an initiate, holding supplies and being medical support, of course, so that I could ensure her safety while I had a little fun.” The small smile on Cass’s face was meant to be reassuring. “It was after that when Lady Kally Kellerman took her to apprentice in Medical, which is when she learned her new techniques.” She paused a second, “I know she was in with the elders of her Order for several hours, was there any discussion with you how those went?”

"Yes, quite a bit of discussion as a matter of fact," Sera said. "It was decided she should be promoted to the Fourth Class. She was rather excited. She's looking forward to telling you all about it." It was the one thing Tessa had seemed happy about, breaking through the look of hurt that constantly shadowed her face. She'd realized why it looked familiar. She'd seen it in the mirror over the months she thought Tessa and Cass were dead. It was loss, but the loss of what, Sera didn't know.

She stood up and addressed her guards. "This conversation is no longer for your ears. Leave us."

“Yes, Your Grace.” The two of them bowed to her before promptly leaving, there was no objection, no hesitation, just the command of their liege lady.

Once they were alone, Sera sat down, wringing her hands. "Cass....I must ask. Was she...damaged in any way?" Sera looked at the other woman fearfully.

“No, Your Grace.” Cass was firm and confident in her statement, “Aside from my fights in the arena of Trarim, I was never separated from her until I was sure the Federationers were safe and trustworthy. No harm came to her, nor any dishonouring.” Cass gave a smile, a very small one, “Even though she became close to one of the young men on the Chimera, they did nothing questionable. She would not have been able to keep that a secret from me, Sera,” The name was a break from tradition, but would reassure her, “Your daughter does not know how to lie very well, I fear for her diplomacy skills in the future.”

The look of relief on Sera's face was immense. "Thank you," she said. "It is a great relief to hear that." She looked at Cass' smirk. "By chance, was the young man's name 'Henry'? He seems to feature quite prominently in her stories of time on the ship."

“Henry Taylor. These people don’t use patronymics or matronymics to identify themselves. He is one of their medical experts, but not one of their doctors, and reasonably good looking. There’s no doubt why Tessa would find him attractive, but aside from some flirting between them, he’s harmless. I extracted an oath from Lady Kellerman to keep an eye on them to make sure nothing untoward happened while she volunteered in their medical facilities.” Cass gave a half-shrug. “She gave me a report every day or so, nothing more than young attraction.”

Sera nodded. "I see," she said quietly, not doubting Cass's sincerity in her words, but wondering about Tessa's mood. She looked at Cass and stood up to sit by her, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving her a caring look. "And what of you? Have you come through this ordeal unscathed?"

The warrior priestess tensed briefly, then relaxed at the touch on the shoulder, "I'm fine, no harm done at all." Cass said, looking up at the blonde woman, "Barely scratched at all and as always, woe and ruin to our enemies." She paused a moment. "I missed you."

Sera smiled and leaned forward, resting her forehead against Cass's. "I missed you as well." She kissed Cass's cheek and put her arms around her. "Now, breathe. Too much has been asked of you for far too long. You feel as raw as an exposed wire."

"You be vigilant for a year without relief, Your Grace." Cass said with a smile, pulling Sera onto her armored lap in what would have been a VERY bad move if there had been anyone else there, but it served to soften the sarcasm. "I only did as commanded, no more, no less. I know what it would have done to you if she hadn't come back..and now she has another sibling?"

Sera nodded, smiling as she settled into Cass' lap, stroking her hair gently. "She does. Another life to protect. I'll be relying on your company and good judgement once again."

Cass chuckled. "I'm getting a bit old in the tooth to be caretaker to another one of your children, but there was this young priest who I remember that would do that job pretty well, or a priestess, your pick. Besides, if I'm with your new child, who'll protect Tessa?"

Sera nodded. "You make a good point about Tessa," she said. "But given our respective ages, I take offense to you claiming to be old in any way." She smiled and kissed Cass tenderly. "But none of that matters for now. For the next two days, you are to stand down and attend to your own needs...and mine."

"An order from my Baroness is one I shall happily follow." Cass smiled and hugged Sera tightly, resting her head on the blonde's chest, "Your personal guard? I wouldn't mind that as a full-time job, you know? Even if most of the time it's all formal." She released Sera and looked at her in the eyes. "Who does a woman have to kill to get that job?"

"You have already killed the mightiest of enemies: my own fears," Sera said. "And I can think of no greater reward than to have you by my side going forward." She gave Cass a brief kiss. "If you will accept." She gave her companion a wry smile.

“Except at formal events.” Cass finished the unspoken words. It would be considered an insult if she were attending the Baroness’s formal occasions, rather than the expected blonde guards. But that was all right, even this was dangerous in it’s own right for if someone barged in on them… But that would be unlikely, and Cass knew how she’d have to react for both of their sakes.

“My life for yours, Your Grace, anytime, anywhere, no matter the odds. Command me and it shall be done, no harm shall befall you whilst I live.” The formal words that she’d sworn to Sera’s mother when joining the sect came to her once more, easily this time, but there was a pang in her heart because it meant that she’d have to hand Tessa over to someone else to guard after seeing her grow up from a squalling child. But that could be arranged the next day.