Free The Phoenix Conspiracy by Richard L. Sanders

second. He was removed from it all and couldn't
stop smiling, feeling bodiless. Silently amused for no reason at
all.
    ...until the loud noises came. What
was it, gunfire? His mind ached as the thunder boomed again, like
ancient cannons. He felt a wave of dizziness and in his momentary
free-fall he lurched upright and saw the spinning fixtures of his
room. A darkened shadowy blur of complete vertigo. He was falling
up. Desperately he grabbed for something, anything, and clutched
the headboard of his bed.
    After a few seconds the feeling passed
and his environment normalized. Leaving him where he'd always been,
atop his bed, and the icy sense of panic dissipated.
    The lights were on and
burning hot, forcing him to squint. He rubbed at his eyes, trying
to collect himself before standing up. Strange, he didn't remember
falling asleep. How long was I
out?
    Another loud knock came and when he
didn't answer right away, the chime rang.
    "Come," Calvin croaked, standing up
and feeling dizzy.
    The door slid open and Summers Presley
stepped inside. As she did, Calvin spotted the equarius bottle on
his desk. He snatched it, panicking that he'd left it in plain
sight. He turned his back to her long enough to smuggle the bottle
back into his safe and lock it.
    "Hello, Commander, what can I do for
you?" His voice was scratchy and dry. He looked around for a
water-bottle while putting a shirt on as quickly as he
could.
    She pointed to the blinking light on
his viewer. "The bridge has been trying to contact you. Are you all
right?"
    The effects of the narcotic must have
put him into such a deep sleep he'd missed it. He downed most of
the water and wiped his mouth. "Yes, I'm fine." He set the bottle
down and looked into Summers' eyes. "Shouldn't you be on the
bridge?"
    "We were concerned about you,
Lieutenant Commander."
    "Call me Calvin. And isn't
it a breach in protocol for the XO to leave the bridge when she
could easily send a team to check on the unresponsive captain?" Of
course, he didn't care about protocol. But she did.
    "No, First Lieutenant Shen Iwate has
the deck. And I thought, under the circumstances, that this would
be best."
    "It's Iwate Shen. In his culture the
first name goes last, kind of weird I know," he smiled. "But we
just call him Shen."
    "But that's not the point," she
said.
    He saw some color in her face. Was she
embarrassed?
    "So what is the point?" he
asked.
    "I thought it would be best if I came
to check on you myself."
    "That's very thoughtful of you, glad
to know you care."
    She frowned. "Don't flatter yourself,
I'm here because you have a priority one message coming in from an
unknown location."
    "What do you mean unknown?"
    "I mean you're being hailed, sir. By
name. The sender is using one of the most secure channels possible,
encrypted, and with maximum priority. Someone wants to get ahold of
you really bad, really fast."
    "If that's not an excuse to be
flattered I don't know what is." He felt his heart and mind race.
"I'll take it in here."
    Summers didn't budge. "Because this
message may be related to the case, and quite likely involves
ship's security, I thought it would be best if we heard it
together."
    Calvin laughed. "You're
joking?"
    Her face was blank.
    "You thought wrong, sister." And with
a jovial smile he motioned for her to leave. "I'll take it in here,
Commander. Thanks, that'll be all."
    She didn't look happy but she
complied. Once the door slid shut Calvin locked it and tapped the
intercom. "Shen, send it in here. I'm ready. Give me visual too, if
you can."
    "You got it, Calvin."
    The screen flickered to life and he
saw the silhouette of a woman in front of a grey wall. The source
of the light behind her was hard to discern. He couldn't make out
her face or any details, except that she appeared to be
alone.
    "Lieutenant Commander Calvin Cross?"
the woman asked. Her voice sounded young twenties and oddly
familiar.
    "Yes that's me," he said. "Who are
you?"
    "Are you pursuing former captain