Free The Phoenix Conspiracy by Richard L. Sanders Page A

Asari
Raidan?"
    "Who's asking?"
    "It is very important that you are
alone, are you?"
    "Yes."
    "And are you receiving this message in
a secure place where no one can listen in?" Despite her youth, her
voice carried a stunning amount of authority, yet it was still
pleasant, smooth, and crisp, every syllable cleanly enunciated. She
had no trace of accent and he guessed she was also from Capital
World.
    "Yes," he said. "Now do you
mind telling me who you are?"
    The woman stepped from the darkness
and a light snapped on. Her olive skin, green eyes, raven hair, and
elegant face would have been recognized on any of a hundred
worlds.
    Calvin was too stunned to bow.
"Princess Kalila Akira?" She was from the Akira House, the most
powerful of the noble Houses, and more importantly she was the
third daughter of the royal family and fourth in line for the
throne. The Akiras had held the throne for over a hundred years
and, like all Akiras, her influence was tremendous and few Imperial
worlds were outside her reach. Her commanding presence extended
over the camera, despite the great distance between them, and it
was the first time Calvin had ever spoken directly with a member of
the royal family.
    "Yes, I am Kalila. But please do not
say my name out loud."
    "I'm sorry," said Calvin, focused now
on her unusual clothes. She was dressed like a commoner and wore no
makeup of any kind, and her flowing hair was tied back. She still
looked cleaner and more well-cared for than those of the peasant
caste—non or minimally fractional citizens—but otherwise she'd gone
to every effort to blend in. He found himself mumbling clumsily,
"if you don't mind my asking..."
    She cut him off. "I'm sorry, Calvin,
but I have to keep this brief. I can't tell you anything over
kataspace except to say that this is extremely important. And
urgent. I need you to meet me in person. Can you do
this?"
    He felt a tingle. "Probably," he said
weakly, curiosity burning inside him. "Where?"
    "Meet me in Tau System. You'll see a
fleet of freighters and a small outpost. Dock with the outpost and
come aboard, alone and unarmed. Go to the main concourse and wait.
I'll get in touch with you there. How soon can you do
this?"
    Tau System was only a little out of
the way to Aleator.
    "That’s over a click from my present
course," he said cautiously. He didn't like the way this was going.
Why would a princess of the crown be taking such extreme and
unusual measures to protect herself? Not to mention sidetrack him
from his mission, which she'd already admitted she knew about.
"It’ll take a couple of hours."
    "Be as a fast as you can. This is
urgent."
    "Of course, Your Majesty."
    "Thank you, Calvin ." Hearing her say his name made him
feel warm and important.
    "Is that everything?" he
asked.
    "There is one more thing. And I cannot
emphasize this enough. It is absolutely imperative that you not
tell anyone about this message or our meeting. I can't go into
details here but you must keep this completely between us. Don't
inform any of your crew and definitely do not transmit any details
to anyone about your heading, purpose, or destination. Do you
understand?"
    "Yes. Though my superiors may demand
an explanation for my course change."
    "Especially avoid telling your
commanding officers."
    He raised an eyebrow. "That's easier
said than done."
    She smiled. "Your record makes you out
to be a clever officer. I'm sure you’ll come up with something.
Just do not transmit your destination until after we've met and
you're back on your way to Aleator."
    "Yes, I understand."
    "Thank you, Calvin."
    The transmission ended and the picture
dissipated, leaving him alone to wonder. "This just gets weirder
and weirder," he scratched his head.
    She'd seemed threatened,
maybe on the run. With whole fleets at her fingertips what could
possibly be a danger to her? And why did she choose to
contact him ? He
couldn't help her. Unless... The obvious conclusion. Her situation
tied back to Raidan and the