The Pirates of Sufiro (Book 1) (Old Star New Earth) (15 page)

Suki Firebrandt arrived on Nantucket with a degree in history and another in physics. She found the home of Jerome Ellis and knocked on the white door. Ellis answered and gasped in surprise. She held out a bouquet of flowers. "Now it's my turn, Jerome Ellis. Will you marry me?"

The captain's mouth hung open. "Yes!" he almost shouted. The two were married in the grand old Unitarian Church on Nantucket Island a week later. With her knowledge of history, nature, and science, Fire was hired to direct the Maria Mitchell Association on Nantucket. Maria Mitchell had been a

pioneering woman in the field of astronomy. Fire would oversee ongoing work in natural sciences and historical preservation of the island; an important task, given that the planet Earth was already overrun by people.

Within the year, Jerome and Fire had a son, John Mark Ellis. Fire taught Mark about the land and the stars. When Jerome was home from space, he took the young boy out to the ocean to emphasize its importance to the family.

"What's it like to work in space, Daddy?" asked young Mark Ellis one day when he and his father were out in the Atlantic Ocean on the family boat.

"It's a lot like this sea," said Jerome Ellis. "Only it's bigger ... more frightening at times ... Always awe inspiring."
"Are there whales in space?" Mark liked seeing the great whales on these ocean voyages with his father.
"There are creatures even more vast, even older, even more hot-blooded than the whales, my son." Jerome Ellis lit a cigar and leaned on the boat's railing.
"I want to go to space," announced Mark.
"You will," said Jerome. "One day, you will."
* * * *

On Sufiro, the Mao Corporation opened its first mine. Its employees were made up largely of people the Mao Corporation brought from other worlds supplemented by people that Espedie Raton had rejected in interviews. Stone's agents began spreading rumors about the poor quality of the workers in the Mao Corporation.

At this point, Stone felt things were going well enough in Tejo that he could spend more time consolidating his own power base. First he caught a ship to New Granada and met with its governor, Floyd McClintlock. Floyd's office was comfortable but sparse. The chairs were big and cozy, if a little worn. The men shook hands. Stone sat facing the old, wooden table McClintlock used as a desk and told him of his plans to form a government in Tejo. "We want a legitimate government—treaties with Earth—everything done right and proper."

McClintlock sat forward, resting his hands on the table. "It's been a long time since Senator Jackson came, trying to get New Granada to join the Gaean Alliance. Shortly after that, a few settlers moved to Little Sonora, the Senator made another trip and they joined. You sound like you're selling the exact same bill of goods."

Granada did not join the Gaean Alliance all those years ago." "It was about freedom, Mr. Stone," said McClintlock,
leaning back. He remembered standing outside Firebrandt's
homestead, listening to Jackson and the captain. "It was
about the freedom to do what
you
did. If the entire Sufiro
Government had joined Gaea there would be no Tejo today.
Neither would there have been a Little Sonora or a Gato
Archipelago. All of them came about because people here
believe in freedom of the individual person to choose the
government they want. The Gaean Alliance has grown so
large that the individual no longer matters."
"But on the frontier, that can mean power." Stone leaned
forward, clasping his pudgy hands together.
"How do you mean?" McClintlock inclined his head. "It means that the monster has gotten so big its left hand
doesn't know where its right hand even is. It means that a
small government with a lot of money can manipulate
sections of that large government and bend it to
our
will." Stone was driving his index finger into the desk to make each
point.
"I lived on Earth," said McClintlock, sitting forward again.
"I know what it's like to be ignored."
"The secret is to be small enough not to attract much
attention, but powerful enough to get what you want." Stone
sat back. "Tejo is going to be a galactic power some day.
What will New Granada be in say, ten years?"
McClintlock shook his head. "It'll be a farming community,
much as it is now. It'll be free. People will live healthily, as
they see fit. Where will Tejo be, sir?" He stood and thrust his
hands into his pockets. "Tejo will become as polluted and
corrupted as the Earth itself. In ten years, at the rate Tejo's
growing, the individual won't matter any more than he does
on Earth."
Stone smiled. He sat back, crossing his arms. "I am in a
position to control Tejo's destiny. Possibly even the galaxy's!"
He stood and began pacing. He gestured excitedly with his
right hand as he spoke. "People choose to come to Tejo,
because it's a nice place. There are good working conditions,
good rates of pay. The cities are growing. There will be a
university there someday. There will be management
positions." Stone put his hands down on the table and looked
McClintlock in the eye. "Where will your son be in ten years?
Where will the son of your friend Mary Hill be?"
"Clyde's doing quite fine. He just made A-Com in the
Navy," said Floyd, weakly. He sat down heavily.
"After A-Com, what? Lieutenant, maybe. Captain, one in a
million chance. Face it, it takes the son of an admiral to make admiral in the modern military. One day your son will return to the only home he has and what will he do. A retired lieutenant wasting away as a farmer. A man with command
skills doing what—commanding corn."
McClintlock sighed. He knew—as every father of an officer
knew—that one day his son would be a captain or even an
admiral. Yet, as he thought about Stone's words, harsh as
they were, he saw the truth in them. There was little future
as a farmer in New Granada. "What must I do?" he asked, his
hands stretched out.
Stone smiled pleasantly. "When your term as governor
ends, retire to Tejo."
"That's all?" McClintlock sat, stunned.
Stone inclined his head, slightly. "It would be nice if you
had a chat with Mary Hill and had her talk to me." He winked. McClintlock was uncertain of Stone's motives. Still, he
promised. Stone heartily shook McClintlock's hand, turned
and strode from the office.
* * * *

Floyd McClintlock decided to pay a visit to Ellison Firebrandt. Years after their first meeting, the two still weren't fast friends, but Floyd had learned to trust Firebrandt's instincts. Floyd told the captain about his meeting with Stone. "What do you think he's up to?"

Firebrandt packed his pipe and lit it. "He wants something from New Granada."
"What?" asked Floyd, perplexed.
Firebrandt inhaled smoke and let it out slowly. "I'm almost afraid to find out, but I think you'll have to have that talk with Mary."
"If it's bad, I don't know if we have the power to stop him," said Floyd, wringing his hands.
"Even if you think it's bad, who are we to judge." Firebrandt stood and began pacing. "He has a right to do what he wants."
"But, where does that right end?" asked Floyd, standing to leave.
"I don't have an answer to that. At least, I haven't found one yet."
* * * *

About a week later Mary Hill arrived in Tejo City. She was surprised; steel and concrete buildings were already going up. Plastic streets were in place. The hovers lasted longer that way; dust didn't get into the intakes. Stone's office was still in the adobe house of Espedie Raton. Hill walked in and shook Stone's hand.

Stone motioned for her to take a seat. The chair was a little too plush to be comfortable. Stone told of his dream for Tejo, much as he had done in McClintlock's office. He showed Hill the papers that would legitimize Tejo's place in Gaean politics.

"I heard all that before," said Hill. "Skip the bullshit and tell me why you want me here."
"I want you to be the first governor of Tejo." Stone leaned across the elegant desk.
"What? Why me? Why not you or Espedie Raton?" asked Hill, suspiciously.
"Espedie and I have a business to run." Stone tapped his fingers on the desktop. "You are a respected citizen of Sufiro but you don't live under a legally recognized government. Seeing the right side of the fence to be on is not a bad idea. Think of it as a nest egg for your son, Rocky."
"I still don't get it." Hill rested her arms on the desk. "I understand what you're saying, but why me?"
"You're McClintlock's oldest and closest friend." Stone sat back folding his big arms. "People in New Granada trust you."
Hill pursed her lips. "Why do you need the trust of New Granadans? People are coming by the shipload to work in your mines. You don't need people from across the ocean."
Stone snickered slightly. "People don't cross space to mine Erdonium." Stone picked up an Erdonium rock from the desk and looked at it. "Oh, they may start by mining Erdonium, but they have much bigger plans."
"What you want is a constant base of workers who'll work for almost nothing." Mary Hill nodded, understanding the reason behind the plan. "But how does New Granada fit in?"
Stone replaced the Erdonium. "New Granada doesn't have a strong economy. People there will see the growth of Tejo. They'll see how good the standard of living is here as compared with there. After a while, it'll be impossible to keep them from coming. They'll work just to be here. They'll work for nearly nothing."
Hill nodded slowly, understanding. "Inexpensive—even free—labor."
Stone grinned. "It'll take time to set up, time to build up some friendly competition with Mao and time to build the New Granadans' trust."
Hill went home to think about it. Stone warned her not to mention the possibility of New Granadan labor to anyone else. Still, she talked to her old friend Floyd McClintlock. They both decided that Stone's plan was sound and being with him would have more long-term benefit than staying in New Granada. Hill moved to Tejo City and—with the support of Stone and Raton—ran for governor. Her name was known among the Sufiro natives who moved to Tejo. She also had the endorsement of the New Granadan governor. She ran unopposed and became Tejo's first governor. She invited the Gaean Alliance to open an embassy in Tejo City.
Gaea came happily. The Erdonium Trade had attracted a lot of attention on the mother planet. It had also attracted attention on many other worlds.
The Mao Corporation continued to open mines in Tejo. Bad press had only slowed them down; it hadn't stopped them. They had a steady base of customers who were quite content at the idea that the price had been driven down considerably. One of the most significant customers of the Mao Corporation was the Gaean Navy. For the first time in nearly two centuries they could afford to consider expanding their tiny fleet of ships.
The Stone-Raton Corporation's prices dropped in response to Mao's announcement of the naval contract. The Mao Corporation had to follow suit. Pleased by the development, the Gaean Navy bought large amounts of Erdonium from Mao as did other companies, but all of them had to pay tariffs. As a result, the Gaean Alliance wanted to talk about full recognition.
The Confederation of Homeworlds was talking about accepting Tejo of Sufiro as a member "world." There were, in fact, several planets that only had continents as members, so there was considerable precedent. There was also an outstanding economic incentive.
The Hill Administration moved quickly—at Stone's bidding—to accept both offers. Tejo was both a legitimate and powerful nation. Only the coastal city of Roanoke refused to ratify the Tejan constitution. To demonstrate her
understanding and compassion, Hill officially respected Roanoke's right to be independent.
"Who needs them anyway?" asked Stone, privately.
Once Tejo was a legitimate power, even more people came. Peter Stone was satisfied that inexpensive labor would wait for another decade while Tejo grew of its own accord. Houses were built and services came to the planet. Shopping centers opened. Hover dealerships arrived, including one run by Mary's son, Rocky. Prostitution was legalized.
* * * *

Peter Stone stood on plush carpet in an extravagant office overlooking a sea of buildings. His office stood high atop a great glass and plastic structure. He smiled with pride at Tejo City. "Ten years," he said aloud to no one. "It's only taken ten years to build the galaxy's largest independently owned mining operation."

The buzzer on Stone's desk sounded. He moved his ponderous mass toward the desk and pushed the intercom button. "Sam Stone to see you, sir."

Sam Stone swaggered into the office and threw himself into a chair opposite his father. "Dad, the Mao Corporation has just opened two new Erdonium mines. Rumor has it that they'll now be able to cut prices another two percent."

"Meaning their prices will be within a percent of our own." Peter shook his head and sat down. "What do you plan to do?"

"If we spread the word that there was work in Tejo for migrant laborers..." Sam leaned closer to his father.
"Migrant labor!" Stone's neck began to turn red. The color moved slowly from the collar to his forehead. "I will not resort to such methods!" His heavy fist slammed down on the desktop.
"You once told me that you discussed an 'inexpensive labor program' with our esteemed Governor Hill a few years ago. Isn't that the same thing as migrant labor?" He folded his arms.
"We talked about it—no longer necessary..." Peter began to rise, but fell back into the chair. He realized something was wrong and put his head down on the desk. "Even after ten years," he said weakly. "There's so much to worry about." His breath came in short, shuddering bursts.
"Dad!" shouted Sam. Peter stopped breathing; his eyes stared blankly at the wall. Sam stabbed at the intercom button. "Ms. Simmons, get me a doctor. Something's wrong with my dad."
"Right away, sir," was the secretary's infuriatingly calm reply.
Sam paced the floor nervously for anxious minutes. Finally the door flew open. Sam was shocked to see not a doctor, but Espedie Raton. Espedie checked Peter's pulse. "Damn," he whispered. "Help me get him to the floor."
Espedie and Sam worked at getting Peter to the floor. Espedie began chest compressions and breaths. He would stop periodically and check for a heart beat. It seemed an eternity before the doctor arrived.
The doctor finally arrived and examined Stone. "I'm afraid it's too late. It appears that he died of a cardiac arrest."
Sam Stone dropped into his father's chair, put his head down and began to sob. Espedie Raton stared at the body of his friend. He thought about the treasure map and the hunt for Erdonium. He remembered the time he successfully saved Stone's life from a wild animal. "Vaya con Dios, amigo," said Raton as he reached over and gently closed Peter Stone's eyes.
* * * *