***
His breathing was slow and deep. Each exhale carried the urge to smile at everything, and nothing. Thoughts were scattered like shifting sands adrift on a playful pond. And he cared about nothing. The swirling joyful apathy filled every breath and second. He was removed from it all and couldn’t stop smiling. He felt bodiless. And was amused by the silence for no reason at all. It was very pleasant.
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 total vertigo hit him. He was falling up. Desperately he grabbed for something, anything, and clutched the headboard of his bed. He wanted to scream, but the sound caught in his throat. The sensation grew, and he felt as if he were being pulled apart.…
After a few seconds, which felt like minutes, the feeling passed, and his environment normalized. Leaving him where he’d always been, atop his bed, tangled among his sheets.
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 followed by the chime ringing.
“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 up, 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.
“What can I do for you, Commander?” he asked, his voice scratchy and dry. He pulled a shirt over his head and pushed his arms through the sleeves.
Summers 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’ve put him into such a deep sleep that he hadn’t heard the alert notice. He picked up a nearby water bottle and downed most of its contents before wiping his mouth. “Yes, I’m fine.” He set down the bottle and looked into Summers’s 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 the 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, and last names go first. Kind of different, I know.” He smiled. “But we just call him Shen.”
“Anyway 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 at the thought of this new mystery. “I’ll take it in here.”
Summers didn’t budge. “Because this message may be related to the case and quite likely involves the ship’s security, I thought it would be best if we heard it together.”
Calvin laughed. “You’re joking?”
Summers’ 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. Thank you. 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 the message in here. I’m ready. Give me visual too, if you can.”
“You got it, Cal.”
The screen flickered to life, and he saw the silhouette of a woman standing before an empty backdrop. The source of the light behind her was hard to discern. He couldn’t make out her face or any clear details, except that she appeared to be alone.
“Lieutenant Commander Calvin Cross?” the woman asked. Her voice sounded like that of someone in their early twenties and oddly familiar.
“Yes, that’s me,” he said. “Who are you?”
“Are you pursuing former captain 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 else can listen?” 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 an accent, and he guessed she too was 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 important, she was the third daughter of the royal family and fourth in line to the throne. The Akiras had held the throne for its entire existence—over a hundred years—and, like all Akiras, Kalila’s influence was tremendous. Few Imperial worlds were outside her reach. Her commanding presence extended over the video transmission, despite the unknown distance between them. 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 attire. 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 better groomed than someone from the peasant caste—noncitizens—but otherwise she’d gone to every effort to blend in with the commonest of environments. 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 be 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 about a klik 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.. “It’ll take a couple of hours.”
“Be as a fast as you can. This is urgent.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” How could he possibly refuse her?
“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 do not tell anyone about this message or our meeting to come. 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 tr
ansmit 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 missing Harbinger.
“So, Raidan, you’re the link somehow.”