The Phoenix Conspiracy Read Online Free

against his mind, making her incredibly
difficult to analyze. Eventually he gave up. Deciding she was
probably not part of Raidan's scheme to attack the Rotham
ships—though her relationship with Raidan was definitely more than
she made it out to be.
    The chime broke his
concentration.
    "Come," he said
    The door slid aside and Anand stepped
in, complete with stubble and mussy brown hair that matched his
skin but contrasted with his overly-immaculate black uniform. In
one hand he held a set of papers.
    "Who dares disturb my slumber?" Calvin
asked as he sat up. He tossed the chargeball to Anand who botched
what would've been a slick one-handed catch. Anand reached down to
scoop up the ball but Calvin stopped him, "Don't worry about it,
the room's a mess anyway."
    "It wouldn't be you, if it wasn't,"
Anand smiled.
    "Ha ha, very funny," Calvin rolled his
eyes. "Is that what you're here to do? Harass your superior? Keep
him from his much-deserved nap?"
    "Easy there, Cal, I'm the
one who's a full Commander here," Anand pointed to the gold bar on
his lapel. "So I'm perfectly safe disturbing you and your much
undeserved nap, Lieutenant Commander ."
    "You know that's the second time
someone's reminded me of that today. I should just never step off
the ship again... But don't think just because we're ashore that
you get a free ride. The minute we're back I'll have you on
continuous watch for days," said Calvin. "And don't think this big
vacation will make me forget it either. I'll stew over it the whole
time. I take my naps very seriously, you know."
    Anand laughed, but there was a tinge
of sadness in his laughter, and when he stopped his face became
pensive. "Actually that's why I'm here to see you. I'm not going
back aboard the Nighthawk."
    "What are you talking about?" Calvin
stood up and Anand handed him the papers.
    "I've been given command of the
Phoenix, effective immediately. It seems the Fleet isn't very
confident Captain Raidan will return to active duty any time soon.
And they want an outsider to do a full audit of the ship and
crew."
    “And that’s you?”
    Anand nodded. “Who better than Intel
Wing?”
    Calvin thumbed through the documents
which were all very official, complete with digital seal. "Why
wasn't I notified by the Fleet about this?"
    "After I found out, I asked the Vice
Admiral to let me be the one to tell you."
    "Well... that was nice they let you.
Did they say who my new XO is?"
    "No. I bet they're waiting for the
trial to be over to announce it."
    "Yeah right. I give it nine
to one on that
they haven't even decided yet."
    Anand laughed. "That's the Imperial
Fleet for you."
    "Well..." Calvin wasn't sure what to
say. He felt a little hurt but masked his disappointment. "Your own
command..." he floundered for words. "That's got to be
exciting."
    "I'm ecstatic," Anand said, perhaps
more eagerly than he’d intended. "Not that I won't miss the
Nighthawk or anything."
    Calvin forced a chuckle. "Yeah right,
you'll forget all about us the minute you sit in that big chair and
hear someone call you captain for the first time."
    Anand shrugged.
    "Well I guess we'd better get it over
with." Calvin signed the papers and handed them back.
    Anand then read the orders of
detachment. "Commander Anand Datar, you are ordered to take command
of the ISS Phoenix immediately, and all current assignments are
hereby dissolved." He continued until he'd read the whole
address.
    "I relieve you as Executive Officer of
the IWS Nighthawk," said Calvin.
    "I stand relieved." Anand
saluted.
    "Well, Anand. You'll be missed. It was
an honor serving with you. Do me a favor and try to keep yourself
alive out there, it's a scary galaxy."
    Anand laughed. "You're the one I'm
worried about. How many times did I save the Nighthawk when you
tried to crash it into a planet or something?"
    "At least a hundred."
    "More like a thousand."
    Calvin smirked. "All right, Anand, see
you around the stars."
    "Take care, Calvin.” He nodded and
left.
    Once the