Diell Breaker (LGBT- Sci-Fi - Romance)

Chapter 24

Chapter 24 

Well that was the first part out, now for the second. Farrell took a slow breath. God this was going to be awkward, he couldn't tell what Shehu was thinking from his guarded expression. 

"I need to tell you something else. I've been having a, um, a sort of relationship with Lieutenant Petrov and-" 

"You what?" Shehu interrupted, his mind going blank. The words didn't make sense, he must have misheard. 

No wonder Shehu couldn't believe what he was hearing, thought Farrell. He had been so adamant about allowing no sexual relationships on board and now he was telling him he had broken his own rule. It wasn't going to get any better. 

"I've been having a relationship, I guess you could call it, with Petrov, and last night-" 

Shehu interrupted again, leaning forward in his seat, totally focussed on what he needed to know. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. You're telling me you and Petrov are lovers?" 

It sounded ridiculous as soon as he said it. He knew it couldn't possibly be true. Not Petrov, he wouldn't have a relationship with the Captain behind his back. He and Alexei would probably have a good laugh about it later when he told him. 

"Oh no, we're not lovers, I'm not in love with him," Farrell hastened to explain, needing to convince himself as much as Shehu. "But we had an, um, rather passionate encounter and I thought-"  

Shehu felt sick, an icy lump growing in his stomach, reaching out to spread through his entire body. Not lovers then, just sex. The colour drained from his face, leaving it deathly pale. His eyes burned like coals. He interrupted again. "Last night, you said?" 

"Last night, yes," agreed the Captain thinking ahead to the confession he was trying to make, if only Shehu would stop interrupting, but Shehu didn't hear any more. 

'Last night'. No wonder Petrov had seemed distracted this morning. When was he planning on telling him? That night? Tomorrow? Never? And he had promised. 'I will promise never to lie to you' he had said and then he had gone right out and had sex with someone else. Shehu had told him to go away, to leave him alone. Why then had Alexei pursued him, gone to bed with him if he didn't really want him? He remembered how impatient he had been to take his clothes off, to touch him. He had wanted him, he had. 

He stared at the Captain with his handsome, chiselled features, his broad chest filling his uniform and instant hatred blurred his vision. It was all his fault. Alexei had been his, before Farrell lured him away.  

He wasn't conscious of moving but the next second he found himself going straight across the desk for the Captain's throat. 

Farrell was taken entirely by surprise. The momentum carried both men in a loud crash to the floor, taking the console unit and everything else on the desk with them. The Captain's sheer astonishment allowed Shehu to get his fingers around his throat for an excruciating moment before he broke his grip. They were both strong men, trained to kill with their hands and Farrell was soon fighting for his life, both men breathing harshly, the only sound in the room as they struggled for supremacy. His brain was still grappling with what was happening as Shehu used his powerful upper body strength to get the other man in a headlock, pulling his neck back a millimetre at a time. 

What had he said to make Shehu turn on him like that? Surely his Lieutenant couldn't hate oms so much he'd risk his own life to kill one? That simply didn't make sense. Suddenly a memory clicked over in his head, 'I've got someone else'. 

'Who?' 

'I can't tell you.' 

Instantly the reason for the attack became appallingly obvious. He had made the worst possible choice to confide his secret to. He was not the only man keeping his sexuality a closely guarded secret, Shehu was another om and he and Petrov were lovers. And now, due to his all too careless words, Shehu thought he and Petrov were having an affair, that he had been betrayed by his lover and his Captain. If only he would stop trying to break his back and give him a chance to explain. He could feel his spine stretching closer and closer to breaking point, Shehu was going to kill him and then he would be imprisoned for the rest of his life. History was about to repeat itself. Only this time, he wasn't the innocent cause, this time it was all his fault.  

He had to get through to Shehu, break through the red haze of rage, restore him to sanity, but his throat was stretched too tight, the words he wanted to say to the other man came out as indecipherable grunts.  Even though he was unbearably ashamed of his behaviour he realised he didn’t want to die for it.

XXX 

Fourth Lieutenant Nguyen stared in total disbelief at the sight that met his eyes. He had dropped in to the Captain's office in the hope of catching him there in person to ask for an extra half day's leave on Fayruz. And what he found were the Diell's two senior officers locked in mortal combat on the floor of his office. At first he thought it was a bizarre game they were playing, testing out each other's defences or demonstrating a new move, but the vibes coming off both men were too intensely serious for that. He could see the sweat rolling in great beads off Shehu's forehead as he tightened his grip inexorably on the Captain's neck and shoulders, their legs locked hard around each other's in a travesty of an embrace. 

"Captain? Lieutenant?" his voice sounded hesitant and he wasn't surprised when neither man paid him any attention. He didn't think they had even heard him, all their attention was focussed fiercely on each other. He fingered his stunner, wondering whether he should use it but he felt uncertain taking such a serious action on his own initiative. What if it made things worse, allowed one man a microsecond's fatal advantage?  

He needed help fast. He activated his wristcom and contacted Second Lieutenant Petrov, the next most senior officer on board, sending him an emergency alert as well as a voice message. "Lieutenant? I need you in the Captain's quarters immediately, sir!"

What on Earth was going on, wondered Petrov as he hurried down the corridor towards Farrell's quarters. The message had come from Nguyen so it was hardly likely to be anything to do with him, personally. Had there been some kind of an accident?