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unknownfacelessfanfictions · 1 year ago

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Part 3: To be near you

Pairing: Commander Tysess x Ophelia (OFC) Fandom: Star Trek Prodigy Words: 3.9K Warnings: SPOILERS for season 1 finale; discussion of death; blood and injuries Summary: A reminder that time is precious A/N: @bigblissandlove1 @akamitrani I believe I've read somewhere that you have not seen Prodigy, but I tagged you anyway, just to be sure. I also know that many people find it uncomfortable to read about animated characters, especially if children watch the show too. If you don't want to betagged in Prodigy stuff, just tell me.

Body Language Masterlist

Red alert.

The constant flashing of the red light hurt his eyes and the shrill wailing of the sirens made his ears ring.

It was over. They had survived it.

For a moment, Tysess allowed himself to close his eyes to take a breath and let the irony of it all sink in. The entirety of Starfleet had been saved, by a bunch of kids who weren't even Federation citizens.

At least, pretty much all of them.

And it was almost destroyed by you, whispered a voice in the back of his head, but he pushed it aside when Janeway addressed him.

"Any sign of the USS Protostar?" Tysess felt his antennae lower and turned to his console. "No, Admiral." Regretfully, he shook his head. "I've tracked their warp signature, but read," he hesitated slightly, the cruelty and harshness of the words not wanting to cross his lips "-no signs of life." Without hesitation, Janeway replied. "Send a search party."

Tysess felt as if he could not agree more. This crew had saved them. Granted, they had brought the ship here, but the massacre had hardly been their fault. But as first officer, he felt obliged to present her with the facts. "But, Admiral, the distance they crossed," he folded his arms behind his back and looked at the screen. "It would take months to scan that many star systems."

Janeway, however, was not swayed and straightened up, her eyes now on him. "That crew just saved Starfleet. If they're out there, I want to know." Tysess nodded and stepped behind her to order the lieutenant to send a message to Starfleet requesting permission for a search party.

All at once, one of the ensigns at the ops console spoke up. "Admiral, damage reports coming in." Janeway turned and settled into her seat. "Report." "Direct hits on decks five, seven and nine, the starboard nacelle is damaged and we have hull breaches on decks ten, thirteen and fourteen, as well as cargo bay three and the engine room, with four dead there, eight injured, five of them seriously."

She continued to enumerate the number of injured and dead, but Tysess heard little more, except the pulse in his ears, which accelerated many times over, within a few moments.

At the same time, however, he felt as if time had stopped. Hull breach in engineering. Four dead. Hull breach in engineering. Four dead. Hull breach in engineering. Four dead. Over and over again these words echoed through his head, followed by another thought. Ophelia was on duty. She could be among them. Ophelia was on duty. She could be among them. His head was too full to think and at the same time empty without any thought.

"Commander? Commander? Tysess!" He snapped out of his trance and stared at Janeway out of wide eyes, who looked at him anxiously. "I'm sorry Admiral, you were saying?" It took vast amounts of strength to force those words out and Janeway seemed to notice as she gestured for him to follow.

In the privacy of her office, she turned instantly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right, Tysess?" He straightened and jutted his chin. "Everything's fine. I apologise, for my lack of presence of mind."

Anyone else would have bought it. Janeway, however, knew him too well. "Nothing is fine. Something is bothering you. Talk to me, please!" Tysess expelled a shaky breath and looked to the floor before answering. " Engineering was hit and had a hull breach." "Yeah, I heard." He took a deep breath. "Ophelia was on shift." Silence. Then-

"You are relieved of duty, Commander." Tysess's head and eyes shot up and he could feel his antennae snap to attention. "Admiral, Starfleet regulations require that-" "I know what regulations require," Janeway interrupted him, crossing her arms behind her back. "However, I also know what it is like to fear for the life of the person you love."

"Admiral, it would be wrong-" "- if you had to continue working even though you are subject to such emotional anguish." Her gaze softened for a split second. "Tysess, you have been awake and on duty for the last twenty-two hours. And even though Andorians are physically superior to humans, even they must realise that at some point enough is enough. Go. That is an order."

He was silent for a few moments, words missing, before he bowed his head slightly. "Very well Admiral." He turned, but paused outside the door to glance behind. "Thank you, Admiral." A thin smile danced on her lips. "I wouldn't know what for. Now go!" This time Tysess didn't hesitate as he walked through the doors, across the bridge to the turbolift and stepped inside. "Deck fifteen."

While Tysess had never had reason to complain about the speed, the turbolift seemed agonisingly slow today. Each deck seemed to take longer to reach and every second he continued to spend in uncertainty about Ophelia's condition drove him mad.

Under other circumstances, he would have found this revelation most intriguing. Although he and Ophelia had known each other for some time, they had been in a romantic relationship together for barely two months.

He wouldn't claim to have much experience with romantic relationships, in fact he had only had two before, but the feelings had never been as strong before, not even after years of being together, as they were now for Ophelia after less than two months. All at once it hit him like a blow. He loved her.

He, Tysess, loved Ophelia Zubira, with all his being, as he had never loved anyone before.

For a few seconds he felt a warmth swell inside him as he realised this. Although they had both made it clear that they were romantically interested in each other and had done things that were common for couples, neither had so far uttered the word 'love'.

Abruptly, his joy fizzled out and horror, disbelief and dread began to grow within him. He loved Ophelia. Ophelia might have been dead.

He would have never been able to tell her how he felt. The fear, which he had been able to suppress for a few moments, returned stronger than ever and Tysess knew that any Andorian would have fled at the sight of his retracted antennae. They knew that every Andorian would not let the death of his mate stand.

The turbolift stopped and as soon as the gap was wide enough to let him through, Tysess slipped out into the corridor and walked with brisk steps towards engineering, which accelerated each time until he was running. He did not care that he was jogging, even sprinting. He didn't care about the astonished looks of the other crew members who had probably never seen him so out of control, however, Ophelia was the only thing that mattered at that moment, the only thing that lived in his head right now.

Only in passing did he notice the damage, which didn't even need a closer inspection to be seen. By now, as he rounded the last corner, his heart was pounding in his chest and the sight before him brought it to an instant halt. The security doors were closed. Engineering had been evacuated. Tysess slowly raised his hand as his nightmare scenario played out before his eyes. Ophelia, locked in the engineering, dying in agony.

He closed his eyes to put the images out of his mind when he heard his name and shot around. For a split second he had hoped, however the voice turned out to be that of an ensign who looked at him. "It's about Lieutenant Commander Zubira."

~**~

She's dead.

Ophelia pulled her legs closer to her body and buried her face in her arms folded over her knees to stifle her sobs as the same scene played over and over before her eyes. When the ships had started firing at each other, she had been in sickbay to repair one of the replicators.

The first hits had shaken the ship and Ophelia had been about to go to engineering to avoid the nurses and doctors, Noum was God knows where, when the next hit had hit the power supply for half the bio-beds. But as these had been needed and Ophelia didn't know what to do anyway, she had set to work and for the next twenty minutes had bitterly fought a battle against the power sources that kept failing before finally winning.

However, all the shaking and spraying of sparks had left her with some scrapes and minor burns, though nothing serious or life-threatening.

However, when Ophelia finally managed to get up to attend to her duties in other areas, the doors had slid aside and three lieutenants, led by Noum, who had apparently finally come down from the bridge, rushed frantically into the room shouting, carrying a person between them.

A person Ophelia knew very well and with whom she got on very well.

Commander Maira Baqri. Chief Engineer of the USS Dauntless, Ophelia's fire chief superior officer and a very good friend. She had been full of joy for life and every time that mischievous smile had appeared behind the yellow hijab, Ophelia knew that what was to come would either be the best experience of her life or a memory she would forever regret.

However, the strong woman, otherwise so full of life and bursting with energy, now lay on the biobed with severe burns and bleeding flesh wounds, while nurses and Noum, scurried around her as the Tellarite barked orders. "Maira." Her voice was only a soft whisper, however she could not bring herself to raise her voice as the lump in her throat knew to prevent it.

The next few minutes were nothing but a blur of movements, colours and shouts and the only thing burned into her memory forever was the long drawn out beeping and the soft cursing of Noum, which he only uttered when his medical skills were once unable to save his patients.

The memories brought tears to her eyes and for a moment she was tempted to wipe her face with her arm, but left it at that. Her arms, more than the rest of her body, were covered with small wounds and hurt a little, but she had refused to have them examined and treated. Noum had protested strongly, but he too had realised that it made more sense to look after more seriously wounded members.

Ophelia sniffled softly and wiped her eyes with her hands, which were also a little scuffed up, making it a little more painful, to wipe away the tears as her eyes fell on the PADD lying next to her on the sofa.

It was still open from this morning and the program to select holoprograms was still open. Ophelia had decided to introduce Tysess to her home in Colombia and had spent the morning searching for suitable and realistic programmes, only to find that none came close to the real thing.

Tysess.

Her sadness changed abruptly to pure fear and horror and a sob escaped her. Tysess had also been on duty, on the bridge, and so far Ophelia had heard nothing from there. That very morning, since Admiral Janeway had been declared unfit for duty, he had said goodbye to her as the highest ranking officer and promised her that they would be back on Earth soon. Now she wasn't even sure if he was still alive.

Ophelia tried to reassure herself by telling herself that she hadn't seen him in sickbay, but it didn't really help. After all, patients could still have been brought in, or his body could be lying cold and lifeless on the floor in a corridor.

Cold sweat of fear spread over her body and she jumped up. She didn't care if she had to tear the whole ship apart, but she would find Tysess.

Alive.

Ophelia didn't even bother to put on her shoes and ran over to the door on her socks, opened it by pressing a button on the panel next to it, and cried out softly.

Standing in front of her, breathless and filthy, sweaty with a small scrape on his cheekbone but otherwise unharmed, was Tysess, who had raised his arm to open her door with the code she had given him. For a split second they stared at each other in shock before realisation set in.

"Oh God!" Ophelia sobbed out, wrapping her arms around Tysess, who had rushed over to her in an instant and was holding her tightly against him, his arms wrapped around her waist, body pressed tightly against body, nose buried in her hair. "You're alive, oh God you're alive," Ophelia sobbed softly and felt them stagger into their quarters, the doors closing behind them.

She sobbed into his shoulder, which didn't seem to bother the Andorian as he continued to run his hands up and down her back and through her hair.

"I thought you were dead," he murmured and she could hear his voice almost breaking with tears. "When they said that engineering had been hit, I thought-" His voice broke off and Ophelia sobbed out again, pressing herself tighter against him. "I was so scared. The possibility of losing you too, after-"

Her voice broke off and her crying intensified before Tysess led her to the sofa so they could drop down, still pressed close together. Tears of sadness, anger, fear and relief streamed down her face onto his uniform top, yet he didn't care and just pulled her closer, pressing kisses to her forehead and just being there while Ophelia cried the sorrow of the last few hours from her soul.

"Maira is dead," she choked out after a while. "They brought her in and...and...there was blood everywhere and I...I couldn't do anything...I...I just stood there and wa...watched her die..." Another volley of sobs shook through her and Tysess pressed his forehead against hers. "It's not your fault." His voice was strained and Ophelia felt more than saw his antennae, which had dug into her hair earlier, twitch. "If anyone is to blame, it is me."

Through tears, she looked up at him in confusion. "Tysess, of what..." "It was I who gave the order to take the call. The call that ultimately subdued the entire ship and nearly sent it to its doom. I am the one to blame for the death, of every single crew member. I-"

His voice trailed off and with shock Ophelia watched as silent tears rolled down the usually composed Commander's cheeks. "It's my fault...mine alone...Please...forgive me... I'm sorry..." He broke off and sobbed quietly, making it Ophelia's job now to pull him close and, even with a tear-stained face, gently run her hands through his hair, careful not to touch his antennae.

"It's not your fault, Motema nangai. Anyone would have done the same in your place. You are not to blame."

Tysess shook his head silently before looking up. "I would never have forgiven myself if anything had happened to you. If you had died, I would have..." He did not finish his sentence, yet he did not have to. Ophelia knew what he meant and pulled him close again. "It's okay.... It'll be alright, Tysess."

"No," he pulled her to him so that she was almost sitting on his lap. "I would never have forgiven myself if you had died without me being able to tell you how much you mean to me, how much I cherish you and praise your presence."

Still with tears in her eyes, she looked up at him and smiled slightly. "You don't have to." For the first time in fifteen minutes, he broke away from her, only to frame her face with his hands. "Yes, I do have to. Because just the thought that one of us could die without you knowing how much I love you... It breaks my heart."

Ophelia's breath caught and for a moment all sadness and fear were forgotten. "You mean it? That you love me?" With a calf-eyed smile he looked down at her and rested his forehead against hers. "How could I not? You are wonderful, kind, beautiful, intelligent, funny, and so much more than I ever hoped or dared to dream. In all my life I have never loved a person so much and it scares me."

Ophelia laughed a tearful laugh and put her hands to his cheeks. "Then let us be afraid together, mi amor. Let us fear this love together."

His eyes widened. "You too?" She smiled and felt tears well up in her eyes again. "Like crazy." For the first time he smiled a wide, if too equally gentle, smile and leaned down slightly to kiss her. It was a long, intimate kiss, which told of the pain, fear and sorrow of the past hours, however, it was what they needed.

When they broke away, admittedly a little out of breath, they leaned their foreheads against each other for a few moments and could each feel the other's breath on their face.

"Will it always be like this now?" Ophelia's voice was low and barely audible, though she knew Tysess had heard her. He always heard her. "Will we only spend our time in service worrying about each other? Having to worry about the other getting hurt? Or even worse?"

He sighed slowly and moved away from her face just enough so they could look into each other's eyes. "Yes. But at the same time it means that in any situation we know that there is at least one person on this ship worth fighting on for. When we come back, wounded and injured there will be someone to tend to our little aches and pains. And even if one day, though I hope not, we have to hand over the other's coffin to the family, we can live with the certainty of savouring every moment. Because that's what I intend to do. To savour every moment with you" He looked up. "Are you in?"

For a few seconds she just looked at him, contemplating his face. Elongated shape with a pointed chin, sky-blue skin, eyelids dabbed with purple paint and pale lilac-grey eyes that looked at her with such love as she was not used to from people outside her family. Ophelia smiled softly. "Yes."

~**~

The next day, Ophelia and Tysess stood side by side in the shuttle hangar and looked at the coffins lined up in front of them. The previous evening, after some time, Tysess had broken away from her to fetch the first aid kit from her bathroom and, as promised, had dressed her wounds.

The rest of the evening consisted of lying in each other's arms and letting out the grief and fear in the form of tears, so that now there were no tears left to shed.

During the memorial service, Tysess held Ophelia's hand tightly in his and only let it go once during the whole two hours of listening to speeches, when Ophelia gave her speech for Maira.

She was nervous and grieving, however, she brought out the words she wanted to get rid of in a way that was worthy of Maira. In the end, she turned to Maira's coffin, only temporarily, as her faith demanded to be buried without a coffin, and gently placed a sunflower wreath on it, which she had woven herself that morning.

They were Maira's favourite flowers and she had loved it when Ophelia had made her a wreath out of them.

Like a queen's crown.

"May you find your peace, dear friend," was all she could whisper before she fled back to Tysess, who held her in his arms. Discretion no longer interested him, nor did some of the astonished looks they received.

At the end, Janeway stepped forward and gave her farewell speech, which brought tears to Ophelia's eyes again and Tysess pulled her closer. Together, after Janeway stepped aside, they watched as the coffins were carefully placed in transporters and then flown out into space to be delivered to the families of the deceased.

Gradually the gathering dispersed until only a few were left. Noum stepped briefly towards Ophelia, who was still standing there nestled against Tysess, and spoke briefly to her before he too took his leave.

"Do you want to go?" Tysess's voice was calm and composed, grounding Ophelia somewhat, at least enough for her to nod. Before they finally left, however, Ophelia was held back by the call of her name. She turned and saw Admiral Janeway coming towards her. Ophelia gave Tysess an assuring look, whereupon he let go of her and stepped back a little, but remained just within earshot.

"Admiral." "Lieutenant Commander Zubira. I wanted to offer my condolences once again. I understand you and Commander Baqri were close." Ophelia felt another lump forming in her throat. "Very close, ma'am." Janeway sighed slightly. "If it were up to me, I would like to postpone the whole thing and give you time to grieve, however, regulations require that I do so as soon as possible." "Admiral?"

Janeway raised her hand, silencing Ophelia before standing up at attention, prompting Ophelia to do the same.

"Lieutenant Commander Ophelia Celeste Zubira. You have served Starfleet for several years now and have proven yourself to be a trustworthy, responsible and talented officer. We have suffered many losses, including our Chief Engineer, who will be sorely missed by us all. Nevertheless, I cannot leave this post vacant." Janeway reached into the pocket of her uniform and pulled out a gold pin, causing Ophelia's eyes to widen.

"I am aware that the circumstances are not ideal and under others this would have been done in the presence of the other bridge officers, however that is almost impossible at the moment. Yet, I have a feeling that the most important ones are here."

Janeway's gaze flew to Tysess who was looking at Ophelia proudly and full of love at the same time. "Lieutenant Commander Zubira. It is my honour and my greatest pleasure to hereby promote you to the rank of Commander and Chief Engineer of the USS Dauntless. Do you accept the promotion?"

Ophelia's breath stopped as she looked wide-eyed at the gold pin in the Admiral's palm. She was torn. For one thing, this had always been her biggest tram. Being Chief Engineer had been the reason for her to join Starfleet and if that meant getting promoted, she wouldn't fight it.

On the other hand, it felt wrong somehow, like she was trying to replace Maira.

Her gaze flew to Tysess, who looked at her encouragingly, as if to say 'Whatever you want, I've got your back' and had to smile. No, she would never be able to replace Maira. Nor did she want to. However, she could uphold the reputation of her best friend and ensure that the ship she had loved so much could be in the best condition possible.

"I would be honoured, Admiral." Janeway smiled at her and took the blank Lieutenant Commander pin from Ophelia's collar, but paused and held the new, gold one out to Tysess then.

"Commander, would you care to do the honours?" For a moment Tysess looked surprised, but quickly stepped towards her and took the pin in his hand. His eyes fell on Ophelia and that one look said more about his feelings than words ever could.

"It is my privilege to promote you to Commander." Gently, he pinned the pin to her collar, smoothed out her uniform and took a step back, pride flashing in his eyes. "You deserve it."

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@indignantlemur

#star trek #star trek prodigy #star trek pro #commander tysess #tysess #tysess x oc #tysess x ophelia #commander tysess x ophelia zubira #commander tysess x reader #kathryn janeway #doctor noum #season 1 episode 19 supernova part 1 #s1e19 star trek prodigy #season1 episode 20 supernova part 2 #s1e20 star trek prodigy

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unknownfacelessfanfictions · 2 years ago

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Body Language

Fandom: Star Trek: Prodigy Pairing: Commander Tysess x Ophelia (OC) Wordcount: 5.3K Warnings: Mild Spoilers for Star Trek Prodigy Prompt: "I think I broke him." Inspired by this post from @ pondering vorta Requested: No A/N: I had exactly two reasons to write this

I love Tysess but apparently almost nobody else does, so I didn't find a single fanfic

The only dissapointment was that I didn't see his antennae move. Maybe I just didn't see it.

Body Language Masterlist

The first time Ophelia noticed that Tysess was acting strangely was when she staggered into the crew mess hall at three o'clock in the morning. She probably wouldn't have noticed it either if she hadn't glanced at his antennae.

Ophelia had just finished a double shift that had lasted well into the night and was more than ready to fall face first into bed and not get up again for the next few days. However, she had not eaten for hours and had the feeling that she would soon pass out from hunger.

Because of the time of day, she had assumed that the mess hall was empty. However, when the doors slid aside, Ophelia was more than surprised to find that another person was also there.

Commander Tysess was sitting at one of the tables with his eyes closed, his head propped up on his hand. He looked about as tired as she felt and it occurred to her that he had probably had to do more than his usual shift as well. There had been tension on the ship ever since the Protostar's first warp tracks had been detected, thanks in no small part to the Admiral.

She could understand Janeway. This ship was valuable to Starfleet, even if it had only been a prototype. But when her gaze fell on the eye bags and drooping antennae of the man in front of her, she couldn't help but wonder if the Admiral wasn't being a little too strict and harsh. After all, she couldn't imagine that the Protostar was worth working half the crew as well as her first officer to death.

Quietly, the doors closed behind her. Tysess did not react, which made her frown. Normally he was a lot more attentive. Ophelia didn't know if it was because of his antennae, but she knew from experience that his senses were usually much sharper than those of humans. For a moment, and for reasons unknown to her, she simply stood in the doorway and looked at the exhausted Andorian.

Ophelia had never given it much thought, but looking at him now, without having to look away quickly, she had to admit to herself that Tysess was quite attractive.

He was quite tall by human standards, but she had seen enough andorians to know that he was taller than the norm there too. Normally, the female andorians were taller than the males, but Tysess seemed to tower over them too, even if only by a few centimetres. He had surprisingly broad shoulders for his otherwise slender figure and his white hair fell tousled into his pale eyes, triggering an urge in her to wipe them from his face.

Ophelia had heard some crew members from her department talking about how his features didn't match. His nose was too crooked and big, his face too narrow, yet she couldn't help but more than disagree. Call her crazy, but she thought Tysess was one of the most attractive men she had ever met.

Ophelia felt the heat rise to her face and was very grateful that Tysess was not an Aenar and therefore could not read her mind.

Slowly she took a few steps closer until she was almost directly in front of him, yet he still seemed oblivious to her presence. A small smile crept onto lips as she watched his drooping antennae sway slightly from side to side.

"Tired?"

Tysess's eyes snapped open and his antennae shot from hanging swayingly to pressed flat against his head. Startled, Ophelia flinched, knowing that the antennae normally only assumed this position in states of alarm. Within seconds, however, Tysess seemed to realise who was standing in front of him, for his antennae straightened into a neutral position, his features relaxed and he even smiled with slight reluctance. "Does it show that much on my face?"

Ophelia smiled back and walked over to the replicators. "I don't want to sound mean, but you look like you haven't had a good night's sleep in days. Coffee?" She turned just in time to see Tysess contort his face slightly and his antennae lay back a little, but not as far as before. A gesture Ophelia had come to identify as disgust. She laughed softly. "Okay, better no coffee. caffeinated black tea perhaps? I hear the Admiral drinks it a lot lately. Or would you prefer andorian ale?"

Tysess's antennae twisted slightly in amusement. "I don't usually drink alcohol on duty. I'd take the tea, though."

"Milk or sugar?"

"No, thank you." Ophelia grinned. "Completely black? Well you seem to be in a dire need of it."

With a tray containing a glass of water, a plate of curry and a cup of tea, she returned to the table and sat down directly opposite Tysess, who sighed slightly. Another sign that the otherwise tireless Andorian was in desperate need of sleep. "You have no idea. I don't think I've slept properly since we picked up the Protostar's tracks." Ophelia set the cup down in front of him, which he acknowledged with a slight nod. Concerned, she frowned. "Tysess, that was almost six days ago."

He just nodded, took the cup and drank half of it in one go. " Quite right."

"I may not be a doctor just an engineer, but that hardly sounds healthy." Tysess took another deep sip, his Adam's apple bouncing up and down before he set the empty cup down on the table. "The Admiral needs me on the bridge. It's important to get the Protostar back."

"I don't disagree with you there either. However, you're no help to the Admiral worked to death either."

Tysess had his gaze out the window and the only sign that he was still listening to her was the fact that his antennae were fixed on her. "I doubt it will come to that." He rose and looked down at her. "If you'll excuse me, my shift starts in ten minutes." He nodded his head slightly and his antennae bobbed along. "I thank you for the tea and wish you a pleasant night's rest."

Tysess didn't wait for a reply, but headed towards the door. Ophelia turned in her seat and called after him. Tysess stopped and turned to her with a raised eyebrow. She smiled slightly, but exhaustedly. "Take it easy, okay? I don't really want to spend my nights in sickbay by your side just because you felt you had to overwork yourself." She tilted her head. "Besides, I doubt Noum will provide me with a bed. He'll most likely kick me out of sickbay, right?"

All at once something happened that Ophelia had not seen before.

Tysess's usually neutral expression melted into a mask of utter surprise. His eyes widened, his mouth opened almost imperceptibly, but his antennae were the most striking thing. Slowly the antennae curved inwards so that the tips of the antennae touched and curved downwards.

Ophelia frowned. She had known Tysess for a long time, but she had never seen his antennae bend inwards like that. Worry gripped her. The only position she knew that resembled this was when he was afraid. She stood up.

"Are you all right?"

Tysess seemed to have awakened from a trance. He blinked hard, closed his mouth and regained control of his features, but not of his antennae, which remained in that position. "Of course." He swallowed. "Why do you ask?"

Ophelia felt the heat rush to her face again and hoped her blush was not so evident through her brown skin. "I know that with Andorians, the antennae are more reflective of the emotions than the face. I've just never seen that position before. It reminded me of the position for fear and worry."

Now it was up to Tysess to blush. His cheeks took on an even deeper shade of purple than his eyelids and he avoided her gaze. " Everything's all right. Good night."

Without another word, he hurried out of the mess hall, leaving Ophelia sitting in her seat with a confused look on her face.

His antennae did not change position as he did so.

~**~

From then on, Ophelia noticed Tysess's antennae bending into that position more and more often and no matter how many times she tried, she could not decipher the emotion involved.

The only clue she had was that Tysess' antennae only bent into this position when he saw her.

This only made the situation all the worse for Ophelia, as she suspected it must be a similar negative reaction to cornering or fear, as it seemed to be some sort of mixture of the two.

And she didn't know what she had done to arouse a negative reaction in him. And even if she had known, she wouldn't have had the chance to apologise properly as Tysess seemed to be avoiding her. Every time she entered a room he was also in, he seemed to almost flee.

Ophelia did not want to admit it, but she was hurt by his behaviour.

A painful twinge brought her out of her thoughts.

"Ow!" She glared painfully at Noum, who only raised an eyebrow in boredom. "What was that?!" He turned and picked up the dermal regenerator. "I wanted to test if you could still feel anything." Noum turned to her and activated the device with the push of a button. "How could such a mistake happen to you?"

Ophelia glanced sideways sullenly. "One of the relays overheated. Nothing bad."

"Nothing bad?" Noum looked at her incredulously as he put the regenerator aside. "You got third-degree burns from a mistake that might happen to a cadet in his first year at the Academy. Not, an experienced officer who has served in Starfleet for years. One should take away your graduation certificate."

The Tellarite looked her seriously in the eyes and Ophelia thought she detected something like concern in his gaze. "You've been incredibly distracted lately. You seem dreamy, off your game, and I've already caught you staring into space for several minutes on more than one occasion. What's the matter, Ophelia? And I'm not only asking you this as a medical officer but also as a friend. You are wearing off on me with this attitude."

Ophelia just smiled wearily. "I'm fine, though. Really, I am. I probably just need some sleep."

Noum didn't seem to like that answer, because he narrowed his eyes before straightening up and crossing his arms in front of his chest. "In that case, I can't help but relieve you of duty."

She shot up. " I beg your pardon what?! Why is that?!" Noum regarded her. "You are distracted, dreamy, unreliable. Today you may have only hurt yourself, but if this continues, you could be a serious danger to the rest of the crew."

Incredulous, she looked at him. "You're kidding, right? Yes, you're right, something has been bothering me, however, I am able to separate my personal problems from my job."

"Obviously not."

Ophelia was just taking a breath to give a snotty reply when the doors to the infirmary slid aside. They turned towards the door and Ophelia felt her heart leap up into her throat.

Standing in the doorway was Tysess. He was engrossed in a PADD, which was why he didn't seem to notice that she was also in the room. For the first time in weeks, she saw his antennae in a different position to the one she had become so used to over the past few weeks. Although they no longer hung down so sleepily but stood attentively upwards, they were not so strangely bent.

Moreover, Ophelia was pleased to note that Tysess must have taken her advice to heart, as he seemed nowhere near as tired.

"Here are the reports you asked for."

His voice sent a pleasant shiver down her spine and she was grateful that he seemed so relaxed. However, that didn't last long.

Tysess looked up and held out the PADD to Noum, who accepted it with a satisfied grunt. Well, as satisfied, as he could be. Only then did his gaze slide from Noum to Ophelia. The change was immediate and hard to miss.

Tysess's cheeks took on a deep purple and his antennae curved inwards once more until the tips touched. "Lieutenant Commander Zubira." Ophelia felt a twinge inside her at this formal salutation, yet she responded only with a tentative nod. "Commander Tysess."

Ophelia moistened her bone-dry lips with the tip of her tongue to buy time to say something, however this only seemed to darken Tysess's cheeks. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Noum eyeing them suspiciously before he handed the PADD back to Tysess.

The latter nodded almost in relief and turned on his heel.

"Tysess!" He froze when Ophelia called his name and turned slowly, almost in slow motion, to face her. "Would it be possible for the two of us to talk? Not long?" Tysess swallowed and turned back to the door. "I'm afraid I'm a little busy at the moment. Another time, perhaps."

Without another word, he left the infirmary.

Ophelia let her shoulders slump down with a sigh.

"There's your problem," she murmured softly. "Tysess has been avoiding me for weeks and I just can't make sense of it. I mean, I'm no expert in Andorian social niceties, however, I'm sure Andorians don't normally go running off all annoyed just because you offer them a cuppa and talk a bit about work." She rubbed her face and hissed immediately afterwards. Apparently Noum hadn't been quite finished after all, because she felt a warm liquid running down her arm.

Noum uttered a curse, at least she thought she did, as it was in Tellarite and apparently so bad that the translator wouldn't translate it, and reached for a clean cloth which he pressed onto the wound. "Dammit, Zubira, you're mucking up my whole sickbay. And I have to clean up again." Ophelia ducked her head slightly at Noum's outburst. Of course, she knew that her Tellarite friend had meant nothing more than to express concern, however, an angry Tellarite was still an angry Tellarite and the person who had angered this one should be careful to avoid the tusks.

"I'm sorry Noum. I'm just a little more taken by the whole situation than I thought. I just don't know where I went wrong with Tysess."

Noum looked up from his crouched position and regarded her for a few moments with an unreadable stare. "For that comment alone, you should have your working licence taken away. Or at least get a visual aid, because girl, I don't think I've ever seen anyone so blind."

Puzzled, Ophelia looked at him. "Why is that?" For a moment Noum closed his eyes and she was pretty sure he was just going out of his way not to hit her.

" Even Commander La Forge could have seen why our first officer was acting like that, even without the visor and ocular implants."

" Oi," Ophelia protested, but was unable to continue her sentence as Noum rather unceremoniously yanked the cloth off her arm, earning him another hiss.

"How am I supposed to know what's bothering him. I don't speak andorian-antennae-language."

Noum shook his head in disbelief and reached for the regenerator again. "Is it humans or Tellarites who have to scribble hearts everywhere to express their emotions?"

"Hearts?" Ophelia's eyebrows drew together. "Noum, I'm afraid I don't understand, I-"

She paused. Her heart began to beat faster, warmth spread through her and she could feel her eyes widen. He didn't mean-

Her thoughts raced. Flashing by with incredible speed were the moments when Tysess had behaved strangely. This time, however, she focused not on the way the single antenna moved, but on the shape they formed.

The warmth inside her developed into an almost unbearable heat.

"Oh."

"Oh?" Noum regarded her as he set the regenerator aside. "That's it? You've racked your brains needlessly for weeks because your human eye couldn't even see the most obvious thing, and all you have to say now is 'oh'?"

Ophelia felt herself blushing again. "I didn't think -I didn't think he would -"

"'-ever fall in love with you hopeless case of a blind person?"

"I wouldn't necessarily have put it that way, but yes."

Noum snorted. "Well, breaking news, he is."

All at once the wonderful warmth Ophelia had felt up to that moment vanished and was replaced by a clammy cold. "'Now what am I supposed to do?"

Sighing in annoyance, Noum put the regenerator aside. "That depends. Do you love him?"

Ophelia didn't think more blood could rush to her face, but it did and she was beginning to feel that not even the dark brown of her skin could cover the redness. "Noum! You don't just ask something like that!"

Noum rolled his eyes. "It's a simple yes-no question. And since you're beginning to resemble that Earth fruit everyone thinks is a vegetable, I guess you'll answer 'yes' to the question."

She snapped her mouth shut. She didn't agree, yet she didn't deny it either, but looked to the ground, which was probably answer enough for Noum. "What are you waiting for?" He pushed her off the couch a little more roughly than necessary. "Go to him and solve this unnecessary problem."

"What?! No!" Ophelia tore herself away from him. "I can't just go to him like this! What if I'm wrong?"

Confused and also a little annoyed, the Tellarite looked at the human. "You're wrong? The man literally forms hearts with his antennae and turns purple in the face at the mere mention of your name. I can assure you, he certainly doesn't do that to me."

"But still. I can't do it!"

Noum's expression darkened. "Oh yes you can, very much so. In fact, you will go and talk to him now. That is an order."

Ophelia's mouth dropped open. "First of all, this is private. I am not to be given orders in that regard. Secondly, I am senior in rank. You can't give me orders in general." Noum raised his left eyebrow. "First, I am the chief doctor here, which is why I can very well give you orders when it comes to your health and before you open your mouth again. Secondly, yes, I do classify this situation as a medical reason, since we've both already established that you don't pay attention when your mind is elsewhere."

"That was different. I didn't know he was in love with me then!"

"And you think that makes it better?"

"Then your argument doesn't make sense either, because what makes you think it would make it better if I was either rejected or even accepted?"

Noum growled softly. "Just keep it down, will you? The situation is very simple from my point of view: he loves you, you love him. The solution to this situation: talk to him."

"Why me? Why can't he make the first move?"

"As far as I am familiar with Andorian culture, the female initiates the relationship."

Ophelia and Noum's heads flew to the door of the infirmary, where a woman stood with her arms folded, watching the whole thing with amusement.

Instantly Ophelia stood up straighter and clasped her hands behind her back. "Admiral." Janeway just smiled and waved her hand lightly. "At ease." Ophelia relaxed slightly, however she still stood a little straighter than before.

Noum didn't seem particularly impressed with the Admiral's demeanour. "I hadn't thought to see you here today."

Janeway gave him a faint smile before turning to Ophelia.

"At least I assume the talk was about Commander Tysess." Heat shot to Ophelia's face again. "How- Admiral, I can explain, I-"

Smiling, Janeway shook her head. "Relax. Relationship between ranks is no longer forbidden. You should know that, Commander Zubira." Ophelia was too shocked to respond. "And to the 'how'." Her smile turned mischievous. "It's not really hard to see, Commander."

Noum snorted as he packed away his medical instruments. "Apparently it is."

"Now, now, doctor. Love is particular and goes its own way," Janeway countered and Ophelia slowly began to feel uncomfortable. However, the Admiral didn't seem to be finished with her yet.

"So, Lieutenant Commander Zubira. What do you intend to do?" Janeway raised her eyebrow. "Are you going to do nothing or act?"

"There is no in-between, is there?" She smiled sympathetically at Ophelia. "I'm afraid not."

Ophelia sighed slightly and after some thought replied. "I'll do some research."

"What?!" Noum looked at her in confusion and disbelief at the same time. "We're here telling you that the person you love loves you too, and you want to do research?!" He shook his head. "I'm getting too old for this."

Ophelia had to smile slightly at the sight of the distraught Tellarite. "You don't understand, Noum. I intend to tell him, I think. However, as we've already established, I don't know much about Andorian culture and behaviour. Tysess has to deal with human culture day in and day out." Her eyes fell on Janeway, who nodded to her encouragingly. "I owe it to him. Kind of."

~**~

Nervously, Ophelia took a deep breath and straightened her top. Perhaps she should have chosen a better moment than to wait for Tysess at his training. She felt so exposed and unprotected outside her uniform and in her training clothes. While she didn't really plan to train, she wanted to at least keep up appearances, even if the chances were slim that she would run into someone else.

Janeway had told her that Tysess always trained at this time and was always alone, as he preferred that. Well, she would probably have to break that routine just once. Ophelia really hoped that it would turn out as she had imagined. Otherwise it would end rather embarrassingly for her and she would jump ship. But not before she'd kicked the crap out of Noum and Janeway for ruining her life.

Forget it, she tried to reassure herself. She had spent the last few days studying Andorian courtship rituals. Ophelia was more than prepared.

But that didn't stop her from feeling her heart pounding in her throat. And even though she hadn't exercised a bit, she could feel the cold sweat running down her back.

The doors to the holodeck slid aside, Janeway had surprisingly left her the codes for them, Ophelia stepped inside and instantly her breath caught. She had never seen Tysess out of uniform before, but god damn, this man could be seen.

The white shirt clung to his torso, perfectly accentuating his physique in just the right places, the black trousers were tight but flexible against her legs and Ophelia felt herself getting hot, so hot that she almost forgot to lock the doors behind her.

Tysess seemed to practise a kind of martial art that reminded Ophelia somewhat of the Klingon mok'bara. His movements were fluid and elegant and Ophelia truly had to pull herself together not to stare too conspicuously.

Quietly and slowly she stepped closer. Again, Tysess didn't seem to notice her, which allowed her to look at his face a little closer. He had closed his eyes in concentration, his cheeks were purple with exertion and his hair stuck sweatily to his forehead. Still, Ophelia couldn't remember ever finding him more handsome.

With a deep exhale, Tysess crossed his arms in front of his chest and opened his eyes. At the sight of Ophelia, he flinched and backed away slightly. She watched intently as his antennae curved back into the now more than familiar position and she noticed more than ever how much it resembled a heart.

She smiled at him, hoping to put him at ease a little. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to startle you." Still, Tysess backed away a little. "How did you get in here? I had booked the holodeck for this time." Ophelia took a step closer, Tysess took a step back. "Again, forgive me. However, I thought it would be a little more comfortable for both of us if I did it here."

Tysess had to swallow and Ophelia's eyes were fixed on his larynx, which bounced up and down. "And what would that be?"

She looked up at him from under her lashes and smiled slightly. "Remember when we met in the infirmary the other day, Tysess?" His name rolled off her tongue softer than ever before. He just nodded and swallowed again. "And Noum pointed something out to me that I hadn't been so aware of. Maybe because I've gotten too used to not seeing it that way." Tysess's breathing was jerkier now. "And as a result, I've come to a conclusion. But because I wanted to make it fair and equitable to you, to clear up any misunderstandings, I read up a little on Andorian culture and customs."

For a moment he looked at her in confusion. Ophelia took advantage of this moment. With all her strength, she threw herself against Tysess, sending him crashing to the ground. Skilfully she settled on top of him and with her legs clamped his and with one hand she pinned both his hands above his head. At the snap of her fingers, a blade appeared in her hand, which she held to Tysess' throat. She had read up on the different types of blades beforehand and knew for sure that the blade in her hand was used for just such rituals.

Although she had tied it into a braid with a blue ribbon, some of her black twist braids brushed Tysess' face.

The latter's eyes had widened impossibly and Ophelia was sure she was not imagining the dilated pupils. His cheeks were now deep purple and his hair just more tousled than before. He swallowed hard and Ophelia could feel the rise and fall of his torso beneath her.

"I don't think you realise the full significance of that gesture, Ophelia." Her name from his lips sent a shiver down her spine. His voice was huskier and seemed to have deepened. With a smug smile, behind which Ophelia was only about seventy percent, she leaned down a little further towards him. "Oh believe me, I know."

Tysess's eyes and pupils grew even larger. Another swallow. His antennae were now no longer curved into a heart, but completely focused on Ophelia.

With the unsharp side of the blade, she gently ran it across his cheek back to his throat and smiled down at him. "As I said, I have done some research. And I am well aware of the significance of this gesture. However, before I continue, as I have, I must make one thing clear first." Gently, she brushed a strand of hair from his face with the blade. "I am a human being. And even if I do as much research as possible, it will still probably never be possible for me to know every aspect of your culture. However, I will make an effort, just as you make an effort, to respect human culture day in and day out. I would be lying if I said I didn't need your help, because I do."

She took a deep breath. "I'm also aware that Andorians are largely polyamorous. I don't know how well I could adapt to it, however, I am willing to try if that is what you want."

Ophelia closed her mouth and allowed Tysess a brief moment to let what she had said sink in. When he nodded slowly but said nothing, Ophelia took one last deep breath. All or nothing. A little harder now, though without hurting him, she pressed the blade against his neck. "Do you accept?"

Tysess stared at her for a moment before answering. "May I also say something before I give my answer?" Ophelia felt the nervousness rise up in her stronger than ever, however she suppressed it. She had had her speaking time, so Tysess was allowed to raise his voice too.

"I am honoured by your promises to me. However, I want you to know that I would never ask anything of you that would make you uncomfortable. And also I want to say that I will do my best to make myself more familiar with every part of your culture. For I too owe you that."

Hope blossomed in Ophelia's chest as Tysess fixed her with his eyes. "I accept."

A wave of relief poured over Ophelia and she would love nothing more than to hurl the stupid blade into the nearest corner, however, she couldn't do it. Not yet, anyway.

Carefully, she ran the blade over the spot where his carotid artery pulsed without leaving so much as a scratch. Then she released one of Tysess's hands and pressed the blade into his. Her breathing quickened as Tysess, still lying down, slowly extended his arm.

As the cold metal touched her throat, her heart skipped a beat, only to continue beating all the faster.

Gently, she took the blade from him again and pinned his hand to the ground once more.

Softly she whispered the words she had spent hours practising in her quarters so she could deliver them in his language. No sooner had the last words fallen from her lips than Tysess straightened instantly. Her grip had loosened and Tysess had been able to free himelf from her with ease. In shock, her blade fell to the floor with a clang, but neither of them cared.

His arms wrapped around her back and greedily he pressed his forehead against hers. Instantly the tips of his antennae began to run through her braids, but he seemed displeased that they were held in a sterner shape by the ribbon and unceremoniously pulled it open.

Ophelia's braids now fell freely down her back and Tysess let out a contented sigh. When the velvety tips of his antennae touched her scalp, Ophelia drew in a gasp. This elicited a contented hum from Tysess. Since she had no antennae of her own to return the gesture, she had to satisfy herself by running her fingers through his soft white hair.

Tysess's humming grew stronger and stronger until at some point he released his forehead from hers. Gently, he placed his fingers under her chin and smiled for the first time in ages, a small but sincere and loving smile. She felt warmer in a moment. "I promised you I'd try my hand at earth cultures, and as I recall, this is how you perform your romantic and most intimate acts."

Without giving Ophelia any more time to think, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. It was clear that Tysess had never kissed anyone in his entire life. Despite everything, however, he managed to make her melt. Nevertheless, she did not remove her hands from his hair.

When they had to separate for lack of air, Ophelia pressed her forehead against his again, which he returned with another low hum. "Just for you, for information. I don't have much interest in a traditional four-way bond. You have nothing to worry about." Ophelia's breath caught as Tysess pressed his nose against her neck. "And you don't have to burden yourself with learning all the cultures of my family. My father is half Colombian and half Congolese, while my mother is half Indian and half British. You truly don't need to put yourself through that."

Tysess smiled into the back of her neck. "I can try."

BONUS:

"I must say I was amazed at the efficiency with which you managed to throw me to the ground." Tysess gently ran his hand over Ophelia's head. They sat on his sofa in his quarters, Ophelia between his legs, her back pressed against his chest.

"I had a practice partner." He leaned forward slightly, allowing him to see her embarrassed smile.

"Oh really?"

She nodded slightly. "However, in return I had to promise Noum that he would be the godfather of my first child. I hope you appreciate my sacrifice."

"I do that for sure."

#star trek #star trek prodigy #star trek pro #commander tysess #tysess #tysess x oc #tysess x ophelia #commander tysess x oc #doctor noum #noum #kathryn janeway #captain janeway #admiral janeway #admiral kathryn janeway #andorian x human #cross posted on ao3

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