Chapter 32

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Chapter 32 

"Well Lieutenant? How can I help you?" Captain Farrell asked coolly. He towered over the smaller man, his broad shoulders filling his uniform, his face set in harsh, unsmiling lines.  

No-one could have called Cheung handsome, but he had an arresting face full of character beneath his cap of blue-black hair. He had strong, rather bushy eyebrows above only slightly almond shaped eyes, high cheek bones curving down to a wide nose and mouth. At the moment he was having second thoughts. He must have got it wrong, surely there was no way this man could be an om. He couldn't imagine him with Rhys in his wildest dreams. He'd let himself get sucked into Owen's fantasy, misread Petrov's reactions. 

Cheung reminded himself that he was thirty-five years old, a qualified officer with years of experience, and best of all, Captain Farrell was not his commanding officer. He was doing the job his own Captain had asked him to, he had to get a grip and take control of this interview. 

"Can we sit down, sir?" he asked politely. 

"Of course. Lieutenant?" Farrell gestured to the chair in front of his desk and sat down behind it. 

"As I said earlier, Captain Asaro has put me in charge of the investigation into the assault and kidnapping of Rhys Owen," began Cheung. 

Farrell nodded, his face expressionless. 

"I interviewed Owen formally yesterday and he told me something that I need to check with you." 

Farrell's expression remained unchanged but inside he was churning. Damn Rhys! What had he said? Couldn't he have kept his mouth shut a bit longer? He didn't want his disclosure to happen like this. When, if, he made an announcement about his sexuality, he was going to be in full control of the whole process not exposed by a reckless one night stand for god's sake! He had yet to make a decision about Shehu and Petrov, he simply couldn't afford for this to come out now, in the middle of everything else. 

He would have to sit tight and deny everything, 

Time to grab the comet by the tail, thought Cheung. "Owen told me that you were the man who called and asked to meet him behind the Three Suns that night. He says you met him there shortly after 21:20 and you spoke for about five minutes. Is that correct sir?" 

This was where Farrell would give a disbelieving laugh and tell him in no uncertain terms what he had really been doing on Fayruz, probably inspecting some equipment at the space port or visiting a friend.  

But the Captain wasn't laughing. 

Farrell considered his options for a second, his brain buzzing. Could he get away with admitting that he'd met Rhys, and only that? But even if Rhys hadn't told Cheung they'd had a sexual relationship, what reason could he possibly give for meeting him in that clandestine fashion? Especially as he hadn't mentioned it before. He couldn't think of a single acceptable excuse. 

Cheung felt horribly certain the Captain was getting ready to lie to his face. He continued quickly, trying to head him off. "The Diell's log shows you were down on Fayruz from 20:30 to 22:10. If you weren't meeting Owen, can I ask what you were doing sir?" 

Farrell's mind went totally blank. Where was that famous ability to think on his feet when he needed it? Cheung was still waiting. He could tell from the expression in his eyes that he now knew, even if he hadn't before, exactly what he had been doing on Fayruz. 

XXX 

Shehu noticed mixed reactions from the crew as he moved around the ship that day, carrying out a random inspection of the equipment. The word had obviously spread ship wide that he was an om. No-one was openly disrespectful, but many drew back slightly when he passed. Others were stiff and formal in his presence, playing it safe.  

It was probably to be expected he thought, trying not to let it bother him. Given the Captain's policy towards om's, there was bound to be a hostile reaction when the crew found out their First Officer was one all along. In fact, it wouldn't be surprising if there were more than a few homophobes on board. 

He tried to ignore all reactions, he knew it would take time, time for the men to see that nothing had really changed, he was just the same man as before. 

He wondered how Petrov was coping. He knew the word had got around about him after the incident with Rhys. He had been quite open to Cheung and the search party about his relationship with him and it had only been a matter of time before someone from the Diell heard and told someone else. He felt suddenly guilty for not asking Petrov about it earlier, if he'd had any problems. He smiled grimly, just wait until someone noticed he and Alexei were spending the nights together in his quarters, they'd really have something to freak out about then! He rolled his powerful shoulders, if anyone crossed the line, maybe he'd have to teach a few men some respect.  

XXX 

Farrell withdrew even further into himself, his face set in uncompromising lines, his body rigid with tension. 

"It's a personal matter, nothing to do with your enquiry." It was the only response he could think of and it had the dubious benefit of being true. Luckily he had realised in time, that lying now would only make matters worse. 

"Could you tell me, off the record?" Cheung offered encouragingly. 

The Captain frowned at him, did Cheung think he was an idiot? How could anything he said to an investigating officer be 'off the record'? 

"Sorry, you'll just have to take my word for it Lieutenant." 

Cheung could see he wasn't going to get anything further from Farrell. He stood up, "I'll leave it at that for the moment sir, but I may need to talk to you again." 

The Captain stared blankly at his departing back. He had a terrible premonition that everything was about to blow up in his face. Premonition hell, who was he kidding? The explosion had already started.

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