The Pirates of Sufiro (Book 1) (Old Star New Earth)

by David Lee Summers

  "I built a coffin from one of the cold storage lockers. I wasn't sure what kind of funeral you wanted for her."

  "She always expected to be buried in space. I guess all of us privateers do. Burned in a decaying orbit around some distant planet."

  "Or killed in a raid." Roberts pursed his lips. "Cremation then—we can scatter her ashes in the river, so she can explore the planet."

  Firebrandt nodded, numbly.

  That night, Firebrandt and Roberts stacked wood. Joylessly, they carried the coffin. The captain held little Suki Firebrandt while Roberts lit the flame. The baby cried. Animals howled and made their strange clicking sounds. The wind carried the smoke and ash to the sky from whence Suki had come.

  * * * *

  The summer progressed, slowly. Roberts noticed that his captain worked the fields as though he was an automaton. Firebrandt abandoned his journals and maps. His mood only seemed to lift when he played with the baby. Roberts knew Ellison Firebrandt too well to be fooled by the facade.

  Roberts was not surprised when his captain ordered the genocide of the mysterious spined insect. Roberts worked long hours in the lab until he found a poison that killed off the creatures that took Suki's life. It had not proved easy to find another one; they seemed to be rare. At the same time, Firebrandt didn't feel safe allowing little Fire outside until he knew none of the killers existed near the homestead. They set up a perimeter of the poison. When they were reasonably sure it was safe, they brought an improvised playpen outside for the baby while they worked.

  One day, Firebrandt came to dinner with a deep scowl etched onto his face. His shoulders drooped dismally. Roberts had never seen the man look so thoroughly defeated. "Would it be possible for us to send a distress signal to someone, say the Rd'dyggians?"

  Roberts put down the plate of steamed vegetables he was carrying. His brow knitted. "Theoretically, we could."

  "I would like you to try to turn that theory into reality." Firebrandt looked down at his feet, then over to his daughter in the cradle. "This is no place to raise my daughter."

  Roberts pursed his lips tightly. "So, that's your answer, eh? Just run away. Are you so arrogant as to think you can just throw Suki's dream away?"

  The captain sat back, stunned. Roberts had never spoken to him like that. "We've been living an arrogant dream," said Firebrandt, angrily. "We thought we could tame a planet! I thought we had."

  Roberts snorted. "Tame a planet? From day one you've treated this place as a Shangri-La. Remember when you went against my advice and tasted the water. You could have died right then and there." He stormed to the other end of the room and retrieved a pitcher of ale. "Congratulations, Captain, sir, you've just discovered this is a real planet. We're the invaders here! We've been damned lucky the planet waited this long to fight back!" The lieutenant slammed the pitcher to the table, sloshing out some of the contents.

  The baby began to cry. Firebrandt went to the cradle, retrieved his daughter and rocked her gently. "We have to protect her," he said, weakly.

  Roberts folded his arms. "By taking her back to Earth? That's what your father did when things got tough."

  "What do I do?" Firebrandt's voice was barely a whisper.

  Roberts retrieved the plate of vegetables and placed it in front of Firebrandt. "You're the captain."

  Later that night, Firebrandt and Roberts walked in silence along the soft riverbank while Fire slept soundly at the homestead. The only sound was a light hum of static from a handheld radio that Roberts had rigged as a baby monitor. The oblong moon was high in the sky, casting a pale light over the landscape. "Do you know the story of Captain Avery?" asked Firebrandt, at last.

  "Wasn't he a pirate?"

  "Not just any pirate, he was called 'the successful pirate.'" Firebrandt looked to the stars. "At least he was successful until he returned home to England to sell his treasure of diamonds. The diamond merchants bought his treasure for a fraction of its worth, claiming they would turn him in to the authorities if he complained." The captain looked into the eyes of his companion.

  "You've decided to stay," said Roberts intuitively.

  Firebrandt nodded and put his arm around his friend's shoulder. The two turned and walked back toward the homestead. "Suki's dream was for me to be the successful privateer. I can't abandon that dream. I loved her too much."

  "We're both successful, my friend," said Roberts. "We have the most beautiful daughter in the world."

  "We?" asked Firebrandt, his eyebrows raised.

  "I would give my life for that little girl. Her mother helped me close a chapter of suffering. I'm in this for the long haul." * * * *

  As the summer grew hotter, Firebrandt and Roberts tended the field. Firebrandt found a new level of respect for his friend. Likewise, he found new hope in the eyes of his daughter. She gave him reason not just to live, but to find joy in living. As the captain discovered new joy, so did Roberts. Firebrandt moved his bedroom from the ship to the adobe section of the house. The addition had windows and the sun would stream in during the morning, giving him reason for waking. Occasionally he would wake up screaming for Suki. The baby would cry in response, bringing him back to his senses. In another part of the homestead, Roberts would hear and a tear would escape his own eye.

  Often, late at night, as the captain rocked Fire to sleep, he would think of his own parents. He thought how much he missed his father who always tried to make time. The thoughts that truly gave Firebrandt pause were about his mother. The captain hated the Coma Navy and the tyranny it represented. He resented his mother for being a willing participant. Still, as he sat with Fire cooing on his lap, he would get odd, guilty stirrings of the soul. He half regretted being so cold to the mother he had thought dead for so many years. Fire's mother really was dead. Firebrandt had the chance to know his mother, but rejected that chance. The baby never would know her mother. The captain, like his father, was faced with the challenge of being both a father and mother.

  The crops grew and so did the baby. Life returned to a new type of normal. Firebrandt and Roberts found themselves spending all of their time in work clothes. Roberts' feet began hurting as he stood for long hours in the field. He finally broke down and scanned them. A type of arthritis was setting in. The bones of his feet were beginning to decay.

  "In its way, it's a blessing," said Roberts to Firebrandt. "A blessing?" asked the captain, his head inclined. "Suki once told me that she was afraid that all there was

  to me was hatred and violence. At one time, that was true. Arthritis means that one day, it'll be very difficult to walk, perhaps even move. Even if I have violent thoughts, it'll be hard to act on them."

  "You're being ridiculous," said Firebrandt. "One day, when the Rd'dyggians come back, we'll get you cured."

  "Rd'dyggians don't get arthritis. And, no one on Earth has ever felt compelled to find a cure. For that matter, most people back on Earth don't get it anymore either. Gene therapy a few centuries ago saw to that."

  "You're in for a lot of pain, my friend," said the captain, somberly.

  "I've had a lot of pain," said Roberts. "Just do me a favor."

  Firebrandt nodded. "Anything."

  "No matter how bad it gets, don't ever treat me like a cripple. I'll find a way to pull my weight, always."

  * * * *

  A new day broke and Firebrandt and Roberts were tending the field under a gorgeous green-blue sky. Fire sat in her outdoor playpen. She looked up to the sky, her gaze fixed on something. Roberts noticed first and tried to follow her gaze. She reached up. Finally, Firebrandt turned and pointed out what she was looking at. A launch was descending some miles away from the homestead.

  "That's an old one," said Roberts, when he finally saw it. "Human design, but she's been around for a while." The launch was almost cubical, designed more for easy storage on a tramp freighter than a comfortable ride. That kind of vessel dropped rapidly from the sky then fired its rockets to slow down, making a rough descent. Its silver hull
did not glint in the sunlight. It had obviously been through the atmospheres of many planets.

  "Looks like it's from Earth rather than the colonies," said Firebrandt. "I'd better go check it out. You look after the baby."

  "Aye aye, sir," said Roberts. Firebrandt went back to the ship, put on some clean clothes and grabbed a walking stick. He set out down the river valley. The pinkish, sandy banks were relatively smooth so he made good time. He found the launch sitting on the ground about five miles from the homestead. It was old indeed. Firebrandt recognized it as the design of launch vehicle used by freighters about twenty years before he became a privateer. Most were now banned, having been deemed unsafe for passengers. The vessel had seen action— the silver paint was not only matted, but laser-scarred. About ten people milled around next to the ship. Cautiously, the captain approached them.

  The people wore old, but well-kept clothing. A man noticed Firebrandt approaching. He met the captain. "Greetings," said the man in an accent Firebrandt did not recognize.

  "Good day," said Firebrandt. He studied the man's face. The man looked just a little younger than he did. He had black hair and a thin moustache.

  "My name is Espedie Raton. We have come from Earth," he said. "We are looking for a new life."

  "Welcome to Sufiro."

  "Sufiro?" asked Raton with a wry smile.

  "That's right." The captain extended his hand and introduced himself.

  "You are the famous pirate?" asked Raton, backing away a little.

  "I was a privateer captain. Now, I'm a simple farmer." The captain inclined his head. The words sounded strange. Roberts still regarded him as a privateer captain. There were times it seemed as though Roberts simply treated life on Sufiro as a new mission.

  Raton inclined his head, studying the tan and muscular Firebrandt. "We got permission from the Rd'dyggian government to homestead this planet. They said it was uninhabited."

  "I don't know that they ever knew we were here." Firebrandt stroked his moustache, wondering if Arepno ever told anyone about them. "My first officer and I crash landed here. We were marooned. We have our own homestead up the river. It's a good place for farming, and you are welcome to set up a homestead there."

  Raton nodded. "I think that might be a good idea. This place, this river, they are beautiful, are they not?"

  "They are." Firebrandt smiled and nodded agreement. Raton led Firebrandt and the others back into the launch. A man in an old uniform did not seem happy about another person coming aboard, but he accepted Firebrandt's presence. The launch lifted violently off the ground and made its way down the five miles to the homestead. Once there, the people clambered out. The uniformed man dutifully but unhappily unloaded a number of items from the cargo area. Raton paid him in a script with which Firebrandt was unfamiliar. That was, however, not surprising since it had been years since Firebrandt had been back to Earth. The pilot left in the launch without saying a word.

  Raton looked at the homestead. "You are telling the truth, Captain Firebrandt. I see you built your homestead around your ship." He nodded approvingly. "What do you call it?"

  "We call the valley Succor," the captain said. "The river is the Nuevo Rio Grande."

  "I thought I heard you speak Spanish earlier!" said Raton joyously. He said a few words excitedly in Spanish.

  Firebrandt held up his hands. "Wait, wait ... I'm sorry, I don't speak Spanish. My first lieutenant came up with the name."

  Raton nodded, sadly. "I've forgotten my manners," he said. "I have not introduced you to my party." Raton introduced Firebrandt to the other people. There were four women and six men. Four of the men, including Raton, were married. Raton's wife was Carmen. Firebrandt led them up to the house. Roberts was outside with Fire in his arms.

  "Who is this little one?" Carmen Raton clasped her hands together eyeing the baby lovingly.

  "This is my daughter," said Firebrandt. "Suki."

  They went inside to the living room. The captain held the baby while Roberts went for drinks. Raton told their story when Roberts returned. On Earth, they were all poor people with no property. All of them were hard working, but Earth was so crowded that none of them could find good jobs. Some of them had worked as pickers in the farming domes of Mars or in space, but that work was limited and barely sustained a family. Others, like Firebrandt's father, had tried mining the asteroid belt. Some of them dealt in illegal products on Earth, trying to make money and so weren't popular with the authorities. Raton had sold tobacco on the streets of Nogales and Juarez. He did not like doing that, but, again, he was trying to keep himself and his wife alive.

  Firebrandt appreciated their stories. Life on Earth was not easy. Much of the living space had been taken up. Automation had wiped out all farming jobs on Earth. All mining on the planet had stopped in order to give people room to live. In fact, migrant work was illegal on the planet itself. Jobs as programmers and robot supervisors were hard to come by. Immigration off world was a popular option, but that required money. The only other option was the military, either as a privateer or in the regular Navy. Most people didn't have the stomach to join the privateers. Unfortunately, the regular Navy had few positions and was highly selective.

  News of Sufiro had just spread to Earth within the last year. No one with money was interested. Farming was more work than most wanted to do. The Rd'dyggians had not reported anything about the planet that appealed to industrialists. The planet was too far from the civilized heart of the galaxy to be popular as a resort. Time to Sufiro was not a problem because of the EQ drive, but the price of Quinnium made tickets expensive.

  These homesteaders had apparently raised the last of their cash to pay for the trip. Even so, they had to take a tramp freighter that was making its way to some distant colony worlds. Sufiro was not terribly out of the way for the freighter, but it was a nuisance for the captain and crew.

  The homesteaders came with tents and were prepared to do their own work for food. Firebrandt shook his head. "Have dinner here tonight. There are crew bunks in the old ship. You can sleep warm and well."

  "We won't impose upon you, Captain Firebrandt." Raton waved his hands in protest.

  Roberts grinned and spoke in rough Spanish. "Please, be our guests. This has been a lonely planet for two aging men and a small baby. We have plenty of food and more home brewed ale than we can drink."

  Raton smiled. "Very well, we'll accept your gracious invitation." He winked wryly and spoke in Generic. "Where did you learn to speak Spanish, Señor Roberts?"

  "My family is from Albuquerque," he said. "The city still was predominantly English and Spanish speakers when I grew up. I didn't learn to speak Generic until shortly before I entered the service."

  That night, everyone took full advantage of Firebrandt and Roberts' hospitality. Everyone drank plenty of ale. Roberts and Firebrandt told their story.

  "Firebrandt sufiro grande miseria," said Raton after hearing the story. "Roberts too. It sounds like Suki was a wonderful woman."

  "Sufiro?" It was Firebrandt's turn to ask.

  "Suffered ... I thought you knew. It now seems a fitting name for the planet, given what we've all been through," explained Raton.

  While the settlers slept, Roberts walked out of the ship into the main part of the house. He looked into the captain's eyes. "It feels strangely good to have people back on the ship. I hadn't realized how much I missed that."

  "Yes." Firebrandt measured his words. His gray eyes focused on the mud-colored wall. "But they will soon build houses of their own. They will soon have their families." Firebrandt and Roberts ambled out through the front door. "These settlers are only the first. Some day, this valley will be full of farms. Possibly extending from the black desert to the northwest mountains." He looked toward the stars. "It was a nice planet while it was ours."

  Roberts put his hand on Firebrandt's shoulder. "It still is a nice planet. It still is ours."

  "But for how long?" The captain sighed. "How long will it stay out
of Earth's hands once people hear of this place?"

  "Not many people will hear," Roberts tried to reassure.

  "I have no desire to see this place ruined like every other planet man has tromped on. Sufiro is my dream. It's Suki's dream and Fire's future. These people don't worry me; they're like us, tired and beaten people looking for solace and succor. They too can't abide what has happened to Earth. But what happens when the others come?" Firebrandt looked at the ground and kicked the dust.

  "The time has come," said Roberts, "to think about the shaping of a world." With that, he led his captain back inside. * * * *

  The next day, the settlers began construction of their homesteads. They stayed with Firebrandt and Roberts while they built their houses. One of the women had experience with electrical plants. She designed a more efficient water wheel with a wind back-up station. With everyone working together, an efficient power plant was built in a few days. Everybody in the community helped each other, taking turns with food. Many of them enjoyed helping Firebrandt take care of his daughter. She represented a future and hope for all of them.

  Before the winter hit, a small town sat along the river with Firebrandt's homestead on the hill above. The captain and Roberts maintained their farmland along the river. The town extended for about three miles on both sides of the river, giving everyone plenty of farmland. They all came to respect each other. Privacy was valued and the law of the land was simply that anyone could do what he wanted in his way as long as it didn't hurt anyone else.

  They often met at Firebrandt's house for dinner. People needed the support of other people on the new world of Sufiro. They agreed their town should be called Succor. All of them shared the captain's concern about the future. Firebrandt soon found himself respected and treated as leader of the settlement. In a way, it felt good. Yet he spent many sleepless nights standing just outside his front door with Roberts' hand on his shoulder. A lump would form in his throat as he thought how much he missed Suki. He stared at the little town along the river and wondered how many more would come.

  NEW GRANADA