Two years later

The Jerez slipped smoothly into the dock at Capella, scheduled for a two-day stopover. Capella was a large station of some two thousand regular inhabitants, and anywhere from a further one to two thousand transients as ships docked and departed constantly. They brought in cargo, passengers and goods of all descriptions to trade. It was a miniature city, complete with shops and warehouses, offices and apartments, hotels and brothels, slowly revolving in space. This time, apart from replenishing supplies, they were picking up a new officer, Second Lieutenant Danyel King.

Not another Daniel, Ferris thought involuntarily as he waited for the man, outside the docking bay. He still cringed occasionally when he thought of his last encounter with someone of that name. He hadn’t seen or heard from Peters for the last two years, but he had kept to the oath he had made at the time. He had kept all his liaisons to short encounters on space stations, never with anyone on his ship.

Now promoted to First Lieutenant, he made a point of introducing himself to every new crewman as an om and telling them it was safe to come to him if they ever experienced any unwanted sexual attention. In this he had the full support of Captain Heyer, the man who had taken over originally as First Lieutenant when Hendricks was arrested. They had both worked hard since then to eliminate harassment, and clean up the ship’s reputation.

Luckily, thought Ferris, watching the tall officer approaching, he looked nothing like his namesake. His skin was milk chocolate brown, his hair black and his eyes hazel. Ferris introduced himself and welcomed him to the ship, noticing that the man was perhaps a couple of centimetres taller than he was.

Ferris had his suspicions, even before he gave him his now standard speech about his own sexuality and how he never got involved with a crew member. He was also another om.

King smiled at him, a beautiful smile which had Ferris pulse beating slightly faster for the first time since...

“Never? That’s extremely admirable, sir. I’m not sure I could stick to that, if someone approached me, I mean.” He was serious for a moment. “I understand what you’re saying about the potential for abuse though, but surely that would only apply if I approached someone of a lower rank?”

“I’m not sure about that,” answered Ferris, “I think it would still cause problems. In any case, Captain Heyer is exceedingly straight so that’s never been an option.” He stopped, suddenly realising how his words might be interpreted. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t meant as an invitation for you to hit on me!” he looked horrified.

King laughed, “Understood, sir.” He shot a sideways glance at the other man though, when he wasn’t looking. What a shame, he rather thought he could have fallen for Ferris in a big way. King was introduced to the Captain and the rest of the crew and soon settled in to his new ship. He had a sunny personality and was instantly popular, especially with the other oms, although rather to his own dismay, he found himself thinking about what Ferris had said and agreeing with him.

As a Second Lieutenant, it was more than slightly inappropriate to proposition a private, even if he appeared to be willing. The power relationship was too uneven. His eyes turned back to his First Lieutenant. He wondered just how conscientious Ferris was in sticking to his principles; would it be possible to change his mind? Perhaps he should start by getting to know him a bit better. He could start joining him at mealtimes.

Ferris welcomed King’s company at first, he was an entertaining companion, but it didn’t take him long to notice that extra warmth in his eyes when he thought Ferris wasn’t paying attention. While he was still wondering how best to handle it, King made his move.

He challenged Ferris to a game of racquetball and made him work really hard to beat him, both of them cheered on by a couple of crewmen who had just finished their own game. Ferris won, but laughingly refused a second match and headed for the showers. He had just stripped off and turned on the water when the door of his cubicle opened and King came in, wearing only his shorts.