The Phoenix Crisis Read Free

were unstoppably lethal.
    The door opened and Calvin glanced up to see
Summers enter the CO’s office. He waved her in and the door slid
shut behind her. They were alone.
    “ Good, I was hoping you’d
get here soon,” he said, leaning back in his chair. He’d originally
instructed her to come to his office right away but on second
thought decided to allow her to finish her current duties
first—mostly so he’d have enough time to organize his thoughts. He
still wasn’t entirely sure how he should broach the subject at
hand.
    “ I got here as soon as I
could,” she said, giving him a curious look. He hadn’t told her
what this meeting was about—just that it was important and she
should come see him as soon as her duties permitted. “Figuring out
how all the shifts will be covered while loaning a good portion of
our crew to the Arcane Storm has proven to be a difficult
challenge.”
    The mysterious ship they’d found abandoned
in dead space had been taken in tow. A handful of people had
already boarded, just enough to fly the vessel. But Calvin had
assigned Summers to select an adequate crew to leave the Nighthawk
temporarily and help manage all of the Arcane Storm’s many systems.
The inevitable result was that both the Nighthawk and the Arcane
Storm would be understaffed.
    “ I’m giving command of the
Arcane Storm to Second Lieutenant Vargas while it is under our
control,” said Calvin. Vargas had become the de facto second
officer since Vincent Rose’s death, even though Calvin had never
officially assigned him to fill the position.
    “ Yes, I am aware,” said
Summers. “And I approve. Vargas has been in command of Red Shift
since Abia and all of Red Shift are among the officers I’ve
assigned to transfer to the Arcane Storm. Was that what you wanted
to see me about?”
    Calvin tapped his fingers
and looked away for a moment. He had mixed feelings about what he
was about to say. But, considering how the situation had developed,
and that he had a critical decision to make, and no more time to
make it—and that he needed to trust somebody— and Summers had really proven
herself in the Remus action, he decided it was worth it. Even
though it meant going against his word.
    “ Sir?” she asked, her eyes
probing him. He realized he’d been unresponsive a bit too
long.
    He swallowed and accepted that what he was
about to do was the right thing. “Summers… I’m not allowed to tell
you what I’m about to tell you…”
    She perked up.
    “ I gave my word that I would
not share this information.”
    She said nothing to interrupt him but he
could see the hunger in her eyes, signaling him to keep
talking.
    “ But the situation has come
to a head and I have to make an important decision. I don’t want to
make that decision without having someone else check my logic. I
don’t want to make this decision alone, and on this ship… there’s
no one here whose insight I value more.” His eyes met hers and he
could see how pleased and pleasantly surprised she was behind her
cold exterior. She fought a smile.
    “ Thank you, sir.”
    “ Now to get right to it,”
said Calvin, “do you remember when we were pursuing Raidan and I
ordered the ship off mission to—”
    “ Tau System, yes I
remember.”
    “ Well prior to going there I
was sent a message from Kalila Akira.”
    “ The princess?”
    “ Yes. She asked me to go
there and meet with her, and so that’s what I did.”
    Summers’ eyes widened. She almost seemed
skeptical. Such a claim probably sounded absurd—a member of the
royal family asking a random mid-level military officer to meet her
in secret, not the most common of occurrences certainly. But Calvin
could tell that, despite Summers’ instinctive skepticism, she
believed him. After all, he had no motive to make up such a
ridiculous story.
    “ What did she want?” prodded
Summers gently.
    “ She was very interested in
our pursuit of Raidan. She wanted me to follow Raidan and