Diell Breaker (LGBT- Sci-Fi - Romance)

Chapter 37

Chapter 37 

Lieutenant Cheung ordered the Diell's shuttle to be taken in tow. It meant the Voyager's shuttle had to move at a slower speed but he knew Patrol experts would want to examine the damaged vehicle in minute detail when they got back to Capella. They would need to look for traces of evidence as well as determine exactly what had caused the explosions. 

The Captain's first concern was for his men. He hovered anxiously as the two medics checked each man. Medic Demitriou caught his eye, "Good news sir, I expect all of them to make a good recovery. This man has a broken arm as you can see and they are all suffering from explosive concussion. You are fortunate not to have been in the direct line of the blast yourself. In fact that was lucky for everyone," he looked down at the man nearest to him. "If you hadn't been able to replace all the masks properly, well, it could have been a disaster." 

"I have Captain Asaro on line sir," Cheung told him, meeting his eyes for a split second before sliding away.  

Farrell brought her up to date with what had happened.  

"I can store your shuttle on board the Voyager until we reach Capella," she offered. "We have room in the infirmary for your men if that would be easier." 

Farrell saw Demetriou nod. "Thank you Captain, I accept your offer on their behalf. However, I need to return to the Diell as soon as possible, if that can be arranged." 

"Of course, Captain. Cheung can take you back as soon as you're ready." 

He called Shehu direct on his wristcom rather than the console unit to tell him what had happened. He realised most of his crew would have guessed the shuttle had been sabotaged but he didn't want to give away any more information than he had to at this early stage. He gave him permission to start enquiries by interviewing Morales and Boyko and the other three men who had seemed most antagonistic to him, on condition that they were kept isolated from everyone else afterwards, at least until he returned and spoke to them himself. Part of him hoped one of the five would prove to be the perpetrator but another part feared that would be too easy. True enough, they disliked him intensely and it was quite possible they were homophobic, but he didn't think they were either idiots or murderers. 

XXX 

It didn't take long for Shehu to discover that neither Morales or Boyko were directly responsible for the sabotage. He supposed it was remotely possible they could have bribed or threatened a third party into planting the device but neither of them had been near the shuttle personally for a couple of days. They both looked genuinely shocked by the attack. Boyko in fact was a close friend of Carmody and he swore up and down he would never have risked his life or indeed the lives of any of the men on board merely to threaten the Captain. 

Shehu was inclined to believe him. 

So far they had kept the severity of the attack a secret but Shehu was going to ask the Captain if he could make an announcement on his return. He had enough faith in the majority of the crew that he believed they would be eager to help find the man responsible, once they realised how serious it was, that it wasn't merely harassment.  

He interviewed three other men who had appeared to him to react most strongly to the Captain's announcement but gained nothing apart from fervent denials. He sighed, he was afraid it was going to be a long painful process, he could only hope the experts discovered some conclusive evidence when they took the shuttle apart. 

He sat at his desk, rerunning the interviews through in his mind for the tenth time. He had assumed that the reason behind the attack was homophobia, but what if it wasn't? Who else might have a reason to want the Captain dead, who didn't care who else was killed in the process? It wouldn't hurt to do a bit of background checking on the crew, particularly those who had joined the Diell recently. He pulled up the list of names on the console unit and started work. 

XXX 

Lieutenant Cheung was uncomfortable with the idea of taking Farrell back to the Diell but he could hardly refuse. What reason could he possibly give? 

He felt a flash of dismay when he realised it would only be the two of them on board. He swallowed, he would just have to be firm, stand up for himself. He sat down in the control chair and waited for his passenger to get settled. 

The Captain took a seat at the back of the shuttle and got straight to work on the nearest console unit. 

Cheung gave a sudden smile of self mockery, so much for his self absorption! The Captain must have much more important things on his mind, he probably wouldn't even talk to him. 

They were a couple of minutes away from docking with the Diell when he felt a presence at his shoulder. Captain Farrell seated himself in the chair next to him. 

"Can I ask you a personal question, Lieutenant?" The deep voice sent shivers up Cheung's spine. 

"Sir?" he answered, pretending to be busy at the controls. 

"Tell me if I'm wrong," he could see out of the corner of his eye that Farrell was facing him, watching his expression, "but it seemed to me you weren't totally disgusted when I kissed you? Shocked, yes but not sickened." 

Cheung kept his eyes on the controls, how could he possibly answer that?  

Farrell continued determinedly, he needed to know beyond a doubt. "I remember when Rhys was missing, you said there were two other oms on the Voyager. It's obvious Felix is one of them," he paused, hoping for the answer he wanted, "Are you the other?" 

Cheung cleared his throat, "What would you say if I told you I wasn't?" He risked a quick glance sideways. 

Unexpectedly, the Captain was smiling. A totally straight man would never have answered him like that. 

"I wouldn't believe you," he said gently.