The Pirates of Sufiro (Book 1) (Old Star New Earth) (16 page)

A year after Peter Stone's death, Manuel Raton stepped out of the old adobe house onto a gray plastic street. He remembered the sweet smell of the grass and the flowers. Now there seemed no smell at all. The sky didn't seem as blue as it once was. He was twenty-nine years old and working as an aide to his father. Tejo had grown much faster than he ever dreamed possible. His father moved to a luxury house in the suburbs of Tejo City. Manuel insisted on keeping the old adobe house. It felt like an island of humanity in a sea of machines. He walked to the high rise building that was home to the Stone-Raton Corporation.

Manuel went inside the towering Stone-Raton building and took the elevator to the top floor. As he passed Sam Stone's office, he heard Sam heatedly talking to someone. It didn't take him long to realize that the person he was talking to was the governor, Mary Hill, now starting the third of a potentially endless number of terms in office. He paused to listen.

"Now's the time!" said Stone.
"I'm not sure it's right," said Hill.
"We must fix the price of Erdonium before it skyrockets too

There was an uncomfortable pause. Manuel thought of moving on, but lingered just a moment longer. "Level with me Stone," Hill finally said. "Erdonium is damn cheap as it is. What effect will price fixing really have?"

Manuel knew the historic answer. Price fixing usually meant that an industry was in trouble. Yet the Erdonium industry in Tejo had no troubles. Manuel couldn't quite put it together; price fixing normally meant holding prices at an artificially high level, negotiated between two companies. This sounded like the opposite.

"If we lower the cost of Erdonium even further we can undercut the Mao Corporation and drive them off Sufiro entirely," said Stone impatiently.

"That doesn't make any sense," said Hill, echoing Manuel's thoughts. "There's no way you can afford to cut the pay of your employees."

"I would never cut the pay of my employees," said Stone. "I would simply find new workers for the unopened mines."
"That only makes sense if you don't plan to pay the new workers." She paused. "Does this mean you're thinking about your father's old plan to bring in inexpensive labor from New Granada..."
Manuel did not need to hear any more. Suddenly a plot became clear. He walked quickly to his office and poured himself a glass of water. His mouth was dry. Stone's plan would work if the New Granadan laborers worked for nearly nothing. That meant migrant labor. He could work two mines with almost no cost at all and maintain the same profit levels with lower prices. That would then drive out the Mao Corporation, giving Stone control of all the mines in Tejo. It would, of course, make Stone fabulously wealthy. However, Espedie had not been in that meeting. The elder Raton was at home, working in his garden. Manuel called his father. They met in the center of the vast city and took a walk through the streets. Manuel knew all too well that the offices had ears.
"Slavery?" asked Espedie. "That's crazy! No one condones slavery in the Confederation."
"What about the Tzrn or the Alpha Centaurans?" asked Manuel.
"But those are aliens," said Espedie waving his son's objections aside. "Certainly no one in the Gaean Alliance believes in slavery."
"No one openly objects to it, either. It's been nearly eight hundred years since it's been practiced on Earth. It's never really stopped if you look at it from the prospective of migrant labor on Mars."
"Migrant labor?" Espedie waved Manuel's comment aside. "That's different."
"Is it really?" asked Manuel. "Did you do it?" Espedie shook his head. "Why not?"
"Are you crazy?! They give you food, housing and enough money to get to the next migrant farm, what kind of a living is that?"
"Now, tell me how is that really different from slavery?" Manuel stopped and looked into his father's old, brown eyes.
"People choose to become migrants. People are abducted to become slaves," said Espedie. "I see your point. My point is we don't really know what Slippery Stone has in mind."
"No, we don't." Manuel put his hands on his father's shoulders. "But I think you should find out. After all, whether he calls it inexpensive labor or slavery, where will he find the people."
A cold chill ran down Espedie's spine. "New Granada," he whispered. "Home."
* * * *

Espedie Raton knew it would be dangerous to confront Sam Stone before any official announcement was made about price fixing. Instinctively he knew it would be dangerous anytime he brought the subject up. Yet to some degree he counted on the protection of Ellison Firebrandt. He and Carmen had both called him a no-good pirate. But Espedie knew he could rely on Firebrandt. Even if he could not protect them directly, Firebrandt would look after their children.

A week went by, and no announcement came from the official government. Espedie figured that either Hill had convinced Stone to wait or else something deeper was afoot. Manuel continued to try to convince his father to find out what was happening.

"What do I tell him?" asked Raton, angrily. "Do I tell him I heard this from my crazy son who was standing outside his office eaves dropping?"

The next week, Mary Hill made a surprise announcement. However, it was not the surprise Manuel and Espedie were expecting. She was forming a Tejan military. It would protect the interests of Tejo in the event of any domestic or international trouble.

"That's got to be phase one," said Manuel, one day at dinner at his parents' house.
"Phase one of what?" Espedie looked up from a bowl of soup.
"Their plan," said Manuel.
"It's still not enough to go on," said Espedie. "They need to announce the price fixing itself before I can do anything. Even though this business with the military seems suspicious, I have no way of knowing that it has anything at all to do with our company."
Two weeks later the announcement came. The Mao Corporation reacted with outrage. Its chairman called Stone via teleholo. "I know you're behind this Stone!" he shouted. "Price fixing is illegal!"
"Only if we fixed the prices to rip off our consumers," said Stone sweetly and smiled. "You are right that I support Governor Hill's actions, but only because it's fair for the customer."
Stone had arranged for a few members of the Tejo Free Press to be in his office during the call. Stock in the StoneRaton Corporation skyrocketed overnight. People always loved corporations that seemed to work for the people's interests. Espedie knew it was time to move. Manuel cheered him on and gave him the courage to actually go into the office.
"All right," said Espedie as he burst into Stone's vast office unannounced.
A startled secretary leapt off Stone's lap and ran out the door. "What is the meaning of this, Espedie," said Stone hotly.
"This price fixing deal." Raton dropped himself in the padded leather chair across from Stone. "What's it all about? I've checked the books. We can't afford to drop prices any more than the Mao Corporation; especially not if we want to expand as we've talked about." Espedie lied. He had not checked the books, but he knew what he had said was true.
Stone shifted nervously. "True, we may have to cut some salaries here and there, trim off some of the fat, but look at what it's going to do to the Mao Corporation."
"So what?" Espedie threw his hands in the air.
"Competition's healthy. Not to mention the fact that there will be a lot of unemployed people from those mines."
"Those people will all return to their native planets or New Granada. They won't hurt our economy. Relax." Stone reached behind him, opening a liquor cabinet. He retrieved two crystal glasses and poured a glass of bourbon for each of them.
"Okay, so what about the mines themselves? All that potential, wasted." Espedie folded his arms.
Stone pushed a drink toward Espedie. "We'll pick them up later. We have time."
Espedie took the drink, eyeing it. Then he looked up, as Stone sipped the bourbon noisily. "Finally, we come to the Tejo military."
At that, Stone spit out a mouthful of bourbon. "What do you know about the military?"
"Nothing other than what was announced by Mary Hill on the news the other night." Espedie took a drink of the bourbon. He licked his lips appreciatively. "The rest I can guess. We are allied with the Confederation and the Gaean Alliance. Therefore our only potential enemy would be the unrecognized power of New Granada, am I right?"
Stone nodded, dabbing up whiskey with a towel retrieved from the liquor cabinet.
"Now, what I don't know is why New Granada would ever bother Tejo? It makes no sense at all. Unless..." Raton took another sip of bourbon. The bourbon burned his throat, but it gave him the courage to push forward. "It makes no sense unless Tejo plans to recruit migrant workers, possibly even tries to capture slaves from New Granada."
Stone nodded slowly. "I think you've had too much to drink, Espedie. Perhaps you should go home. Take a few weeks off. You've been working awfully hard."
Raton replaced the half-empty glass on Stone's desk. He stood and walked to the door. He turned. "Son, I should turn you over my knee and give you the spanking your father would if he were here. You can bet your ass I'll find out what's going on."
"Oh," Stone smiled. A newly set diamond sparkled in his front tooth. "I think Dad would be proud of what I'm doing."
Espedie stormed out of the office. Like an automaton, he walked into the elevator and fell against the wall. His heart beat rapidly. He went home and phoned Manuel and told him about the meeting. Too late, Manuel realized their mistake. By announcing what he knew and had figured out, Espedie had warned Stone to cover his tracks for the rest of the operation.
That night Espedie killed a bottle of tequila. Carmen put him to bed. She heard a faint rustling out in the yard. She put on her robe to look. As she stepped outside, a hepler beam fired. She fell dead, a ragged hole in her chest. Espedie stirred. He opened his eyes in time to see the cold, gray barrel of a hepler gun pointed at his nose. He opened his mouth to scream a moment before his head exploded. * * * *
Late that night, Manuel awoke. He heard only the noise of traffic. For some reason he could not sleep. He padded into the living room and turned on the holo news. He saw a familiar-looking house. His tired brain had a hard time placing it in the dark. A headless body was shown as it was taken from the house. Another body lay face down on the ground outside. All at once he recognized it. He bit down on his tongue suppressing tears. He tried to hear what the announcer was saying.
"...an unknown assailant broke into the home of respected businessman Espedie Raton..."
"Unknown, my ass!" Manuel shouted with tears in his eyes. "It was Stone, you fucker! It was Stone!" Manuel put his face in his hands and let deep sobs flow. Suddenly, he sat upright. "If they came for Dad, they'll come for me too." He thought of calling Firebrandt. Firebrandt would know what to do. Then he shook his head. Any call would be monitored. He thought about calling Juan to tell him. Again Manuel shook his head. The only answer was to get to safety as soon as possible. Only that way, could he fight.
Manuel rushed to the bedroom and threw on some clothes. He threw some things into a suitcase then rushed out to his hover. Manuel stopped suddenly as he touched the cool metal of the vehicle. He stepped back slowly, reached to the ground for a rock and tossed it onto the accelerator and fell to the ground. The hover exploded in a blinding flash of light. Dogs barked as debris rained from the sky. Stone had anticipated his action. Lights began to wink on in the houses.
Manuel stood and ran down the street finding a hover in his friend's driveway. A light snapped on and a bleary-eyed man appeared in the doorway. "I'm sorry, amigo," called Manuel as he hopped in and activated the control computer. He made a guess at the password. It worked. "You should never use your wife's name," he muttered. The hover was fully fueled. The man in the doorway suddenly realized what was happening. He shouted something that Manuel never heard. Manuel tore out of the driveway and straight through town, between buildings.
Tears streaming in his eyes, he tore through the forest he had come through with Sam Stone. He remembered the yelling and the laughter. He remembered the grand adventure and the partnership their fathers had which had brought them together. Stone had ruined the memory of Manuel Raton's childhood. As day began to break, Raton was over the desert. "Sam Stone will pay!" shouted Raton, his fist raised in hatred.
Manuel Raton drove full throttle into downtown Roanoke. He finally slowed down when he nearly hit a little boy on a tricycle. He made it to the shipping dock and slumped over the dash, heedless of the joystick prodding him in the stomach. He was too tired to cry anymore, but he was safe. All he had to do was buy a ticket home.
PART III
THE WAR
"There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell. You can bear this warning voice to generations yet to come. I look upon war with horror."
—William Tecumseh Sherman from a speech to the Grand Army of the Republic Convention, August 1880.
THE CLUSTER
John Mark Ellis, son of Suki and Jerome Ellis, was twentythree years old. Like his grandfather, Ellison Firebrandt, he was restless and capable of a certain ferocity. John Mark Ellis was far more self-disciplined than Ellison Firebrandt, however, and perhaps more aware of his own compassion for others. Also, like his grandfather, John Mark Ellis was loyal to Earth. That loyalty led him to the Gaean Navy where he served as second lieutenant on the star cruiser,
Astrolus.
Spaceflight, even at its peak, had never been well funded on Earth. Most of the Gaean Navy consisted of small, old, poorly maintained ships. The largest ships had three decks. When off duty, the crews of these ships slept in bunks lining the walls of the upper deck. The bunks of officers were only distinguished from those of enlisted men by being a little larger with curtains that could be drawn for privacy. Only the captain had a "cabin" of his own.
Ellis reclined on his bunk, his back against the bulkhead, and lit a thick, brown cigar. Gray smoke began to waft around his head. A small tired fan tried in vain to keep the smoke confined to Ellis' bunk space. Janelle Shoukry, third lieutenant, looked across to him. "Do you
have
to smoke one of those things?"
Ellis, a naval traditionalist, glared at his junior officer. "Do you have to smoke one of those things,
sir
," Shoukry snorted as she corrected herself.
"No," said Ellis. He continued smoking his cigar.
"Would you mind putting it out, sir?" asked Shoukry, her brown eyes watering.
"Yes." He picked up a book, turned on his faint overhead lamp and began to read with shadows of the smoke drifting lazily over the pages. Shoukry stared at him for a bit longer, contemplating what to do. Ellis ran fingers through his dark hair and turned a page.
"Sir, do you know that tobacco is illegal on Earth?" Shoukry said, trying a new approach.
"It's not illegal off-planet. Besides, it's not like the fumes are any more harmful than the one this old rust bucket spews from the air vents." The lieutenant's eyes remained fixed on the book.
Shoukry shook her head and lay back. She never knew quite what to make of John Mark Ellis. Most of the time, he seemed to live in a shell, quiet and reserved. Every now and again, he would break through the shell and be extremely friendly. When he would open up, he would speak at length of great literature or music. She saw hints of a remarkably sensitive and singular man. Even now, she suspected he was reading poetry: Shakespearian sonnets possibly, or one of the great writers of 29th century post-Slivan period.
Unfortunately, Ellis was refusing to allow his sensitive side to surface. Shoukry sighed, reached into her kit and retrieved a dairtox tablet, swallowed it, then rolled over and tried to get to sleep despite the smoke.
Ellis continued to read until Karen Shankar, the ship's first lieutenant, appeared in the doorway. "Get your butts out of bed," she shouted. "The Old Man wants all officers on deck. There's an important message coming in." She spun on her heel to leave then turned back around. "Ellis, ditch the damn cigar. People are gonna exhaust their dairtox rations with you around."
"Aye aye, sir," said Ellis. He hopped out of his bunk and tossed the half-smoked cigar into the incinerator chute next to the bunks. He reached into his locker and grabbed a gray body suit, got into it, then tossed on his dark-blue uniform jacket. The chief mechanic had dozed off to sleep and was just sitting up on the bed. "Captain means now, Jones," said Ellis has he padded barefoot toward the bridge. Shoukry was buttoning her jacket and following.
They walked onto the bridge, looking disheveled. The Old Man didn't care. As Ellis had indicated to Jones, when the captain said he wanted all officers on deck, he meant immediately. With all officers on the bridge, in addition to the watch crew, it was crowded. Captain Angus MacPherson sat in the command chair with Karen Shankar at his side. The pilot, gunner and communicator sat at their stations lining the front of the bridge. Ellis, Shoukry, and Jones crowded in at the stern with the chief engineer.
The captains of naval vessels had, for centuries, been called "the Old Man." Slightly over half the captains in the fleet were women. About half of those captains were under fifty. Consequently, there was a joke that "the Old Man" was neither. This was not true of Angus MacPherson. He was a forty-year space veteran. His thick black beard was streaked in white. A scowl seemed permanently etched into his marblelike face.
As the officers settled into place, MacPherson ordered the bridge communicator to play the message. The voice was that of Admiral Marlou Strauss.
"Earlier today, the star cruiser
Courageous
encountered a new type of star vessel. It was larger than that belonging to any of the planets we know. Even the Titans say they have never encountered its like.
"
Courageous
attempted to make contact. The alien ship ignored her communications. The two ships faced each other for nearly an hour. At that point, the captain informed us of his intention to scan the vessel. We have not heard from the
Courageous
since that time." Strauss paused in her statement for a moment.
"We have been trying to reestablish communications—so far, no luck. It is possible that the alien interpreted the scan as a hostile act and attacked
Courageous
. They may be damaged, even destroyed. I want
Astrolus
to go in and investigate. Render aid if possible. Coordinates of the last transmission made by
Courageous
have been beamed to your pilot. Good luck." The speakers hissed faintly for a moment. The communicator turned them off.
MacPherson looked around the bridge. "We'll be at jump point in forty-five minutes. Go get something to eat, get ready, and then assume your stations."
Ellis, Jones and Shoukry padded back to their bunks while the chief engineer and first lieutenant moved beyond to the mess. Shoukry pulled off her uniform jacket and stretched. She looked down, annoyed at how pale her skin was. Space duty will do that, she reasoned. She put on her uniform shirt and put the jacket back on, adjusting it properly. She sat down on the bunk facing Ellis to put on her boots. "So much for a good night's sleep, eh?"
"Hey, where's that 'sir?'" Ellis teased. Shoukry smiled. Ellis was in a better mood. She wondered whether there was a correlation between danger and his cheeriness. They made their way back to the ship's mess.
The cook dropped plates of food in front of them as they sat down. The plates were covered with some kind of unidentified brown substance. "Cover it with enough gravy and we won't know what it is; is that your game, Cookie?" Ellis chided.