The Phoenix Conspiracy (37 page)

"There was no such order," the
Commodore’s eyes lit up. "We have no other choice but to relieve
him of command. As of this moment you, Commander Presley, are the
commanding officer of the Nighthawk. I am sending this notice to
all senior staff. Is Major Jenkins nearby enough to hear what I've
just said?"

"Affirmative."

"Good. Your new orders are to proceed
directly to station CC-Platform B in the Xerxes system where you
will be given further instructions."

Summers felt a wave of confusion.
Xerxes System? "Shouldn't we follow the Harbinger to Zendricun
Alpha?" she asked.

"Not yet. Proceed to Xerxes with all
speed. Fleet Command out." The screen winked off.

"You heard him, Major," said
Summers.

"Yes, and I just logged it," he looked
up from the computer screen. "You have command."

"Time to spread the good news," she
couldn't hold back a broad smile.

The Major nodded and opened a channel
to the whole ship. "Attention all hands, this is Major Jenkins. As
of this moment, Commander Presley has command of this ship. Calvin
Cross has been officially relieved of duty by order of Fleet
Command. That is all." He released the button and looked at her.
"I'll send two soldiers with you to make sure the transition on the
bridge happens smoothly.

"Thank you."

"And Commander," he said as she turned
to leave. She looked back at him. "Would you like Cross
detained?"

She felt a stab of guilt as she
imagined Calvin knocked out in his quarters, and how she'd used
him. And, technically, she was guilty of battery against him. It
had been necessary and he had deserved it. But now that she had
command there was no need to add even more insult to
injury.

"No," she said softly. "I don't think
that will be necessary."

***

Calvin awoke to the sound of a loud
knock. His eyes, well-adjusted to the darkness, stared at the door
but he didn't say anything. It didn't seem real. He rolled over,
half-expecting Summers to be next to him, but when she wasn't there
he knew it had all been a very vivid, strange dream.

The pounding came again and Calvin
managed to sit up, scratching his bare chest—which was frozen with
sweat. He stared down at his crumpled sheets and blinked several
times, trying to clear away the blurriness. He felt light-headed
and somewhat dazed and struggled to collect his bearings. He knew
where he was but had no idea how long he'd been here in his
quarters or what time it was.

Whoever it was knocked a third time,
louder than ever.

"
Come,
" Calvin croaked with his
hoarse, groggy voice, desperate for the knocking to stop. The door
slid open and a large silhouette rushed inside. "Lights," Calvin
ordered. They snapped on to reveal Miles who looked tense, maybe
even angry. His face burned red and his eyes seemed larger than
usual.

"Is it true?" he asked, panting. Like
he'd sprinted the whole way.

Calvin’s head hurt and he combed a
hand loosely through his tangled hair, wishing Miles would lower
his voice. "Is what true?"

"That Summers has command?" Miles
didn't hide his panic.

Calvin shook his head slowly. "I'm
sure I have no idea what you're talking about..." Feeling the
torture of dry throat, he looked around for a water bottle and
noticed the open safe. Bottles and bottles of equarius still in
place but perfectly visible. One, however, was missing. He felt his
heart squeeze with fear and he realized what must have
happened.

Summers had used him. And
he'd let her. Let her in his room. Let her somehow incapacitate
him. And let her break into his safe and discover his dark secret.
And all because he was too blinded by her brilliant green eyes,
seductive smile, and superbly carved physique...
She beat me!
He shook his
head in disbelief.

"We got this nasty memo from Fleet
Command and the Major made an announcement to the whole crew a
couple of minutes ago. Summers is in and you're out. I guess they
worked it out with someone up the food chain or
whatever."

Calvin felt slow, like his mind wasn't
working properly. He closed his eyes hard and rubbed his temples,
gently coaxing himself to a more alert state. While he did this, he
realized he was in real trouble. And had no one to blame but
himself.

"So is it true?" Miles pressed. He
said it in the kind of way that meant he already knew the answer
but desperately hoped otherwise.

"I suppose it is," said Calvin,
unmoving. He didn't even feel like standing up.

So that was that... it was such a
bitter flavor. The grim future that awaited him in Xerxes didn't
feel real. What bothered him most of all—even more than knowing the
Raidan mystery would never be solved—was that Summers had taken
advantage of him so severely and bested him so easily. He was a
smart guy. Always proud of his intelligence. How the hell did he
let this happen?

He thought of his encounter with her
on the observation deck, what they'd spoken about, how it'd gone.
How she'd leveraged her beauty against him. And the more he
realized what a fool he'd been, and how he'd been played like a
toy—a simple, stupid, foolish toy—the tighter he clenched his
jaw.

"How could you let this happen?" Miles
demanded, shocked and frustrated. The question cut into Calvin
deeply and he could think of no answer he liked, because they each
ended with it ultimately being his fault. Like the bad bishop move
he'd made in his chess game with Summers earlier. A fatal blunder.
Only this time, others had to share the consequences of his
mistake, maybe even the whole Empire.

"I got careless," said Calvin, staring
blankly at the wall as if he could see through it. "And I let my
guard down." He tried to block out the fresh images of Summers'
eyes playing with him, and her siren smile... again he shook his
head, ashamed. She'd betrayed him. And by letting her do that he'd
betrayed himself. Ever since Christine, he'd kept his heart closed
to the women around him and now that he'd let someone squeeze past
his defenses, his life was in permanent ruins.

He realized how it happened, he'd
somehow projected his feelings for Christine onto Summers—and that
had been his fatal mistake. With that knowledge, all his romantic
feelings were crushed like splintering ice under a steel hammer.
And he blocked out the pain and confusion.

"So what happens next?" asked
Miles.

Calvin shrugged. "We go to Xerxes.
They launch a full inquiry and put us on trial. I'll be discharged,
my assets frozen, and they'll leave me stranded on some two-bit
border system where I can't do any damage. As for the ship, they'll
swap out most of the personnel—probably stuff it full of navy
officers the way things are going, and then go kill Raidan, if they
can."

Silence filled the air and Calvin took
a deep breath. "And if Raidan dies, his secrets die with him. What
a waste."

"So you're just gonna roll over and
that's it?" asked Miles, his voice gaining volume.

Calvin finally let himself look Miles
in the eyes. "I'm not sure what else to do at this
point."

"Yeah, but..." Miles
faltered for a half second. "I don't want that bitch to win.
I wanna fight
!"

Strangely, hearing Miles say that gave
Calvin the slightest burst of energy and the tiniest smile cracked
his lips—but only for an instant.

He may have lost everything
else, but he still had the loyalty of his closest friends. And
seeing Miles there, eyes lit with rage, Calvin wondered if somehow
he could still salvage his situation.
If
his senior
staff—
his friends
—put it all on the line for him.

"Maybe you’re right…” said Calvin.
"We're already condemned by association anyway, may as well hang
together and do something to deserve it."

"Now
that's
more like it," said Miles,
pumping a fist into the air. Calvin nodded, feeling excitement pour
slowly into him as his mind raced, trying to think how best to
twist the situation to their advantage.

"OK, Summers will probably keep two
vigilant eyes on me," said Calvin. "So that limits what I can do
for now. But it's also an advantage. If she's busy watching me then
she's less able to watch you, Shen, Sarah, and the others. What I
want you to do is feel around for me, find out who's loyal. See
who's in if we make a move."

"
When
we make a move,” said
Miles.

Calvin smirked. "Right. But for now,
we have to keep things quiet. Spread the word around cautiously and
when you have a good idea of who's with us, arrange a
meeting."

"I'm on it," Miles whirled for the
door.

"And Miles," said Calvin
before he could leave. "Be
subtle
." He knew that wasn't one of
Miles' strong suits.

"You know I will," a smile spread
across his round face.

Calvin nodded approvingly. "You're a
good man."

22

When Summers took over the command
position from the Second Officer, Mister Rose, she encountered no
more resistance than surprised faces. When no one objected to her
orders, she dismissed her Special Forces escort who left with a
salute.

Every person on the ship had heard the
Major's announcement and, like she’d expected, many were in shock.
They’d admired Calvin and his loss of command was a wake-up-call
many of them had needed. A first step in restoring
discipline.

Her first order was to re-open all
communication. This was possible now that the Major had overruled
Calvin's lockout. The ops officer, Cassidy Dupont, handled it in
only a few seconds. Satisfied, Summers turned her attention to the
man at the helm.

"What is your name, Second
Lieutenant?" She noticed the insignia on his collar.

"Me?" He pointed at
himself.

"Yes,
you
."

"Jay."

"What is your full name."

"I don't like my full name, I prefer
Jay," he said very casually. Summers shook her head realizing that
even though she had command of the ship, it would still be a long
uphill battle before she had a ship worth commanding. Again she
told herself this crew could be retrained. It would just take time
and a firm hand.

"I asked you a question and I expect
an answer immediately. Do you understand?" she snapped.

"Yes, sir."

"Now, what is your name and rank,
mister?"

"Second Lieutenant Jay Cox,
sir."

"Sit up straight, Mister
Cox."

His face reddened but he did as
ordered. Summers nodded approvingly. Then she turned her attention
to the young man at the defense post. He was just a boy, maybe
eighteen or nineteen. It felt strange to trust someone this young
with something so vital. But, despite his youth, his
black-and-silver uniform boasted the white bar of midshipman. He
was an officer and Summers would treat him as such.

"And what is your name,
mister?"

"Midshipman Patrick O’Conner,
Commander."

She knew everyone else's names
already.

"All right, Mister Cox, set a new
course. Heading, Xerxes System."

"Aye, Commander," he input the new
course. To adjust quickly, the ship had to slow down to basic
speeds and stars again filled the windows as the ship
turned.

"New course plotted, engaging primary
engines and commencing alteredspace jump in forty-five seconds.
Standard jump depth. Estimated time of arrival… eight
hours."

"Good," Summers stood up. "Lieutenant
Commander Rose, you may resume command of your shift."

He saluted and Summers left the
bridge.

Next she'd put in an order to have the
illicit drugs seized from Calvin's quarters. Then she hoped to get
some sleep without thinking of him, and what had happened between
them.

***

"It's all set up."

"Good. Where and when?"

"One hour. Observation
deck."

"We're not all getting there at the
same time are we?"

"No, no, of course not. Everyone
arrives at different times, at least ten minutes apart. Don't
worry, I got it."

"I hope it isn't too much time. I
don't want anyone to notice people are missing."

"It's still Red Shift for another few
hours, I doubt anyone will notice."

"They'd better not."

***

Summers tried for all of thirty-five
minutes to sleep.

Her bed just wasn't soft enough and
she couldn't get the temperature exactly right. But that wasn't
unusual. The real problem, she knew, was her racing thoughts. She
had command now and that meant many more responsibilities. In the
quiet darkness she picked through everything she knew about the
ship and tried to plan how she'd restructure it. She wanted to
streamline everything so they could catch Raidan as soon as
possible. That meant getting to know the crew's capabilities
better.