The Phoenix Conspiracy (56 page)

"But to anyone who chooses not to
follow me down that dark road, you can book passage back to your
families once we reach Gemini. I promise you. And you can go,
shamelessly, with your heads held high. And no one will begrudge
you for it."

Then he paused and looked them over
once more. "It'll be another twelve hours before we arrive. You
have until then to decide. Dismissed."

Miles and Sarah lagged behind as the
others filed out. They said nothing but their eyes were supportive
and he was glad to know that, whatever was coming, he wouldn't have
to face it alone. Shen would have stood there too, Calvin knew, but
he had already been moved to the Harbinger's burn ward.

The last to leave was Summers Presley.
She'd been completely silent the whole time and did not make eye
contact with him or anyone. She just stared out the window for
awhile. Calvin wanted to say something to her, but he didn't know
what. He decided to just leave her be.

To his surprise, she broke the
silence. Barely more than a whisper at first."I'm sorry," words
quiet enough Calvin thought he'd imagined them. He wasn't sure what
to say and hesitated.

Summers continued, "for what
I did to you, here," her eyes searched over the empty observation
deck. "I am sorry. And..." she paused, finding a little strength,
"you were right. There
is
something wrong with the Fleet. What happened... I
don't know... I don't understand it..." she looked past him and out
into space. "But something
is
wrong. I can accept that now."

Again Calvin was speechless, barely
able to believe what he was hearing. And he could tell this was
very difficult for her.

"Thank you," he said quietly, not sure
what to add. Thinking that, after all that had happened, Summers
was as much a victim of circumstance as he was. “You could walk
away from this, you know?” he found himself saying. She didn’t
follow, so he continued. “You weren’t part of this—what I did. The
Fleet would take you back. You could walk away from all of this and
no one would hold it against you.”

“I
would hold it against me,” her words were quiet but forceful.
“After what I saw—what we
all
saw—how could I just walk away? How could anyone?”
She glanced down at her hands, as if they were stained red. “I’m no
one’s tool anymore. Not Raidan’s. Not the Fleet’s. Not yours… no
ones.”

There was a fire in her. The fire of
someone who’d been betrayed too many times. Someone who didn’t
trust anyone or anything anymore.

“So… are you coming with us, then?”
asked Calvin. Not sure what to expect.

She nodded once. "I believe in what
you’re doing. You are trying to find the answers. Discover what’s
wrong with the Fleet, so order can be restored. If I can help with
that goal, I want to. If nothing else, I have to try…" she spoke
slowly, with some difficulty, "Just... promise me one thing.” Her
eyes met his, looking deadly. “Be careful trusting Raidan." The
strength of her gaze took him off guard.

"I will," Calvin promised.

Her eyes stayed with his for half a
second longer, bright and unreadable, then she turned and swept out
of the room without another word.

Leaving him alone again. The first to
come and the last to leave. He turned back to the window and
pressed his hand against its cold surface, thinking about what’d
just happened. But before long his thoughts twisted back to the
violence on the Rotham ship, particularly Monte’s death. And in his
mind he offered a silent farewell to his dear friend. He leaned his
head against the glass and closed his eyes as several choice
memories poured through his mind.

Only then did the tears flow. And he
let them, without a sound. His eyes burned and cheeks grew damp,
but it gave him peace.

Chapter 33

Raidan sat at his desk, where he'd
remained since Calvin had left.

It was peaceful and quiet, aside from
the occasional clinking of bottle to glass. He drank another
swallow of whiskey and let out a satisfied sigh, letting himself
relax even more.

He had a lot to think about now that
he'd finally met the young Intelligence captain who'd been pulled
into something much larger and deeper than he could hope to
realize. In a way it was kind of sad. Regrettable, at least, that
one so young and talented would have to be ruined, needed to give
up everything, despite complete innocence. But it was for the
greater good. There simply was no other way.

Calvin Cross, I do not envy
you
.
You have the
second worst position in the galaxy now.

In a way, Calvin reminded
him of himself. When
he
used to be happy.

Hopefully you have more
wisdom than I did, at your age, Calvin. Otherwise you won’t survive
long enough to be useful. And far too much depends on
you.

Raidan took another sip and thought
about what was stored below and how, in a few more hours, the fate
of an entire planet would be decided.

He shook his head and set the bottle
and glass aside, then scribbled a note on his stationary for
Tristan to pass along via kataspace.

It read:
"We're coming, and the package is coming with us. Fifteen
hours. A.R."

End
of Book One

Dear Reader, I hope you
enjoyed reading
The Phoenix
Conspiracy
as much as I enjoyed writing
it.Please support me by checking out my other books as they come
online, telling your friends about me, and visiting my website for
updates regarding Book Two:
The Phoenix
Rising
.
www.richardlsanders.com
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