Earth Afire

by Orson Scott Card

  A few others despised Rena as well, though why exactly Rena could only guess. Perhaps they felt the need to blame someone. Or perhaps they thought they should be making decisions for the group. Or perhaps they resented how some mothers came to Rena for comfort and not to them.

  Whatever the reason, it didn't matter. Rena ignored them all. The women never confronted her directly with their grievances, so Rena let it go. Bringing it up would only escalate their complaints and divide them further. And division wouldn't help them. Divided they might not survive.

  She found the broken nav sensor at the helm and immediately got to work. It was an easy fix if you knew what you were doing. Corporate ships and stations like WU-HU or Juke had crewmen who knew next to nothing about how the ship functioned; they each had a single task, and that's all they did. But on a free-miner ship, families couldn't afford that luxury. Everyone had to know everything.

  And so on El Cavador they constantly taught each other, shadowing each other for a day or a week, or putting together trainings and seminars. Rena knew navigation of course, but she learned all other duties as well, mining and maintenance and cooking and piloting, every chore that kept the family functioning and alive. No one stops learning, Concepcion used to say. Our strength is one when our mind is one.

  Captain Doashang had learned this principle quickly. Every task he had given to Rena and the other women had been completed with exactness. There was no learning curve, no trial and error; the women of El Cavador simply did precisely what was needed as soon as it was asked. Sometimes before it was asked. Wait until something's broken, and you've waited too long, Segundo had said.

  Rena disassembled the nav sensor and swapped out the burned component. As she worked she noticed three crewmen nearby glancing in her direction and talking quietly. They spoke in Chinese, thinking she didn't understand them, but El Cavador had snogged Shoshan, a Chinese bride, years ago, and she and Rena had become dear friends. Shoshan didn't speak Spanish, and the two of them had set about teaching each other their native languages. Rena still couldn't speak Chinese to save her life, but she could pick up words and phrases here and there if she listened close enough.

  "... babies screaming at all hours of the night..."

  "... we can't keep feeding them..."

  "... you should talk to Magashi ... problems if they stay here much longer..."

  "... supplies won't last forever..."

  "... feed one clan and then everyone wants a handout..."

  Rena gave no sign that she understood and kept her eyes on her work. It wasn't the first time she had heard such things. Many of the crew resented the fact that Magashi had let the women and children of El Cavador stay. Most of the station crew was kind and generous and eager to share the food they had in storage if the women of El Cavador worked for their share. But a few of the crew spread resentment like wildfire.

  We can't stay here, Rena told herself for the hundredth time.

  Rena and the other women were already doing double the workload of the typical crewmember in some instances, but Rena knew that would never be enough. Those who spoke against them would always speak ill, no matter how much Rena and the others helped.

  In fact, it would only get worse, she knew. As supplies continued to diminish, and as fewer supply ships from Luna arrived, the complaints would get louder and more frequent and sooner or later someone would take action. Rena didn't think the crew would turn violent, but she didn't rule out that possibility. People became desperate when they were hungry.

  Yet where could they go? All the WU-HU ships that came in were ordered to stay docked. Everyone was on inactive status.

  And whenever a free-miner ship approached the station, it was always to beg for food. The supply depots were hoarding their storage, the free miners said. "We have money. We'll pay for food. Please. We have nowhere else to go."

  Initially Magashi had sold what little food she could. But she had faced such a fierce backlash by some of the crew, that she now turned every approaching ship away.

  Rena couldn't ask passage on a starving ship anyway. She had nineteen women and several dozen children. If the ship didn't have the food to feed them, going with them would be suicide.

  It was a problem without a solution, and the clock was ticking.

  "Incoming vessel," said the spotter.

  "Can you identify it?" asked one of the officers.

  "Looks like a vulture, sir."

  Rena felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Several of the helmsmen looked uneasy as well, and for good reason. Vultures were recovery crews who salvaged dead ships for profit. Most of them were mining crews who had given up on rocks and found easier money stripping ships to the bone.

  The rule was, if you found an abandoned or crippled ship unoccupied by living persons, then the laws of salvage applied: Whoever takes it, owns it.

  The problem was, the rule invited fierce competition among vulture crews. Once a crew found a ship, they had to strip it of its most valuable parts as quickly as possible before another crew swooped in and tried stripping it as well. It was a feeding frenzy that always turned violent if the stories were true, and Rena had every reason to believe them. On more than one occasion El Cavador had found a salvaged ship that included dead vultures among the ship's dead crew, suggesting that a competing crew of vultures had come in during the salvage and taken everything for themselves, killing everyone who stood in their way.

  Piratas was the word Segundo had for them. Pirates.

  "They're pinging us," said the spotter.

  "Open a frequency," said the officer. He moved to the holodesk and put his head into the field.

  A head appeared in the air in front of the officer. It was the blackest man Rena had ever seen, skin so dark that the whites of his eyes were as bright as moons by comparison. His expression was fierce and unfriendly. "I am Arjuna," he said. "I seek audience with the station chief."

  "For what purpose?" the officer asked.

  "Are you the station chief?"

  "No. I'm one of her officers."

  "Her? Your chief is a woman?"

  "A very capable one. What's your business?"

  "That is for me to discuss with the station chief."

  "We're not giving out food if that's your request."

  "We do not seek food. I come with grievous news. And an offer. One that will help you extend the life of your supplies."

  "What news?" asked the officer.

  "The destruction of more than fifty mining ships. All of them killed by the Pembunuh, as we call them. I can give you the coordinates. You can turn your eye there and see that I speak the truth."

  Pembunuh. Rena hadn't heard the word before, but she knew what it meant. Every ship and crew seemed to have their own name for the aliens. Hormigas, Wageni, Bugs.

  But fifty ships? The thought of it left Rena cold. So many people. So many families. Fifty versions of El Cavador. It was unthinkable.

  "Give us the coordinates," said the officer.

  Arjuna complied, rattling off a string of numbers. The spotter put them in his computer, and everyone in the helm gathered around his screen. Rena hung back, craning her neck to catch a glimpse, but everyone was clumped together so closely she couldn't see. It took several minutes to move the eye and zoom in on the coordinates, but eventually the images came through.

  The crew fell silent. Hands covered mouths. Eyes widened. Rena pushed her way through the crowd to see. No one stopped her or seemed to even notice.

  It was more wreckage than Rena had ever seen, most of it mere dots on the readout, stretched out across tens of thousands of kilometers of space and still moving.

  "I do not lie," said Arjuna.

  The wreckage was between them and Earth, and the first of it was surprisingly close to their position. Only two to three weeks away perhaps.

  "I will connect you to the station chief," said the officer.

  "I do not wish to speak to her via holo," said Arjuna. "I want t
o speak to her in person."

  "You can't dock your ship here. This is a private station."

  "My ship will not approach. I will come in a shuttle. Alone. You are free to search me when I arrive. Anyone who wants to return with me is welcome."

  Return with him? Why would anyone want to return with him?

  The officer put Arjuna on hold, conferred with Magashi, and made the necessary arrangements. Four hours later, the shuttle docked in the cargo bay, and Arjuna floated from the airlock and turned on his greaves. The magnets pulled his feet to the deck plates, and he stood facing Magashi who had come with four of her armed guards. Rena stood off to the side, out of sight but within earshot.

  Arjuna was a big man, well over two meters tall and wide in the shoulders. He wore a heavy coat cinched tight at the waist, thick boots, and padded pants. "Put your guns away, friends," he said. "I come with money, not violence." He reached into his pocket, and the guards flinched, their hands on their weapons. Arjuna slowed and delicately pulled out a money stick. "Relax. Five thousand credits can hardly harm you." He pushed the stick through the air to Magashi, who caught it and examined it.

  "We're not selling any food," said Magashi.

  "I'm not here for food," said Arjuna. "I've come for men. Twenty if you can spare them. These ships the Pembunuh have destroyed are there for the taking. I mean to salvage them for what parts we can find. I will give five thousand credits to every man who joins us."

  "My crew are employees of WU-HU," said Magashi. "They have jobs."

  "Yes, jobs at a station that does nothing at present but burn up supplies. I can take them off your hands for a few months. They can earn a great deal, and you can save on supplies. How long do you think your food will last if you continue as you are? The interference has driven most supply ships back to Luna. The Pembunuh have destroyed others. Ask other travelers if what I say is not true. It will be months, maybe even a year before more supplies come. If the Pembunuh wage war on Earth, supplies may never come again. Your station is overpopulated. I can help alleviate that issue."

  "By taking my crew?"

  "Borrowing them," said Arjuna. "I doubt any of them wants to starve to death."

  "You've made your offer," said Magashi. "We're not interested."

  "The wreckage is a gold mine. You have a problem. I have a solution."

  "The wreckage is a battlefield. Will you pilfer from the dead?"

  "The dead have no use for their ships. I do."

  "Why not use your own crew?" asked Magashi.

  "I will use my crew. But with more men I can double our efforts and salvage more before others arrive."

  "Other vultures, you mean?"

  A flash of anger came to Arjuna's eyes. "We are not vultures, madam. We are crows. Ours is an honest trade. There are buzzards and vultures in the Black, but my crew and I follow none of their ways. We harm no one and we abhor those who poison our industry. Ask any tradesman or salvage dealer. Arjuna is a man of his word. His methods are as gentle as a lamb."

  "Even lambs bite," said Magashi.

  "Yes, but we bite only to chew the food we have earned by the sweat of our labors."

  "We're not interested," Magashi repeated.

  "And what of the men who hold those weapons?" asked Arjuna. "Does the woman speak for them? Would they like not five thousand credits and a job that pays better than the ones they have?"

  The men glanced at each other, curious how the others would respond. After a moment, when no one responded, Arjuna said, "Very well. Then I will ask you to return my money stick."

  Magashi pushed it back to him. He caught it, slid it in his pocket, and bowed. "May your shelves never empty and your bellies never hunger." He pushed off the floor and launched back toward the airlock.

  "Wait!" The word was out of Rena's mouth before she could stop herself.

  Arjuna caught a handhold at the airlock and turned back. Rena flew to him and landed beside him. "You say men, but will you take women? Free-miner women?"

  "I would take one free-miner woman over four corporate men. Free-miners are skilled and hard laborers. Are you from a clan?"

  "Not a clan. A single ship. El Cavador. Or rather, that was our ship. It was destroyed in the Kuiper Belt by those you call the Pembunuh."

  "Then you have my condolences. But if your ship was destroyed, how is it that you are alive?"

  "It's a long story. But there are many of us here, and we are wearing out our welcome. If you can promise us protection from your crew and transportation to a depot, I can give you skilled laborers." She had no idea why she trusted this man, but she did.

  Arjuna smiled. "You need not worry about my crew, Lady of El Cavador. What I have spoken is true. We are a family of crows, not vultures."

  Family. The word reassured her. But only for a moment. Who was this man? Was she ready to put the women and children in his hands? He could be a murderer, for all she knew.

  No, there was kindness in those moon eyes.

  "As for taking you to a depot," he said, "I give you my word on that as well. Once we salvage, we will make for a depot to trade. Should we part ways there, you are doing me a favor as well. I wouldn't have to fly you all the way back here. Where are you headed?"

  "I don't know," she said. "But wherever home is, it's not here."

  "What is your name, Lady of El Cavador?"

  "Rena Delgado."

  "And do you speak for your crew?"

  "I speak for no one but myself, but I believe my crew will come if I ask them to."

  "Then you are not a woman to be trifled with if you have such sway and influence." He gave her a measuring look. "Tell me how to safely remove an oxygen processor."

  He was testing her. But the question was simple enough. There were four steps and three precautions to be mindful of. She recited them all, throwing in a few secrets that Segundo had taught that she doubted Arjuna knew about.

  The crow tried to hide that he was impressed. After a moment, as if considering her further, he said, "If you have twenty men and women as sharp as you, I will take them."

  "We have more than twenty people," said Rena. "And you will not get a single one of us unless you agree to take us all."

  "How many?"

  "There are fifty-six of us."

  Arjuna scoffed. "My shuttle isn't that big, Rena of El Cavador."

  "Then you can make two shuttle trips."

  "And are all these people skilled laborers, or can I expect children and invalids among them?"

  "No invalids. But thirty-seven of them are children, yes. Some of them infants."

  He scoffed again. "And what am I to do with thirty-seven more children on my ship? I have enough little mouths to feed already."

  She was glad to hear that he had children on board. That was further evidence of family. Pirates didn't carry children.

  "Our children work, sir. Not outside the ship, but many of them clean and wash and cook as well as any man or woman in your crew. They'll earn their food."

  "I need salvagers, not dishwashers."

  "And you'll get salvagers. Nineteen of them."

  "How many of them are men?"

  "None," said Rena. "We lost all our men."

  She saw a hint of pity in his eyes. "Yours is a tale of sorrow, I see," he said. He folded his arms and considered a moment. "Nineteen women and thirty-seven children. Most captains would laugh at such an offer."

  "Most might. But you know better. By your own math, nineteen free-miner women are equal to seventy-six corporate men."

  He threw back his head and laughed at that. A big booming laugh that surprised her. She didn't think he had any humor in him, but there it was. "You use my own words against me, Rena of El Cavador. Very well. Come. Bring your nineteen women and thirty-seven children. If you salvage as quickly as you do calculations, I have need of you among my crew."

  *

  "Are you out of your mind?" said Julexi.

  Rena was floating outside the storage room in the
corridor with most of the women. A few others were inside the room, feeding and tending the children. "Keep your voice down," said Rena. "You'll frighten the children."

  "I'll frighten the children? I'll frighten them? A ship of murdering vultures is what will frighten them, Rena."

  "They're not vultures," said Rena. "They're crows."

  Julexi threw her hands up. "Vultures, crows, seagulls. What's the difference? They're all the same. They're parasites. They feed off the dead and they kill whoever they fancy. We used to run from these ships in the K Belt, Rena. And now you want to join one of them? Have you lost your senses? We know nothing about this man. He could take us back to his ship and have his way with us."

  "He has a family. They're a lot like us."

  "How would you know?" asked Abbi. "He'll tell you anything to get us on his ship."

  "I know because I met his family," said Rena.

  The women stared at her. "What do you mean you met them?"

  "I made him take me back to his ship on his shuttle. I insisted on inspecting the vessel and meeting his family."

  "You went on his ship?" said Julexi. "Alone?"

  "I wasn't going to rush us all over there without knowing what we'd be getting ourselves into. They'll put us in the cargo bay. It's slightly bigger than the storage room here. I saw it. It's clean. There are hammocks in there. And there's food as well. I saw their supplies. There's enough for all of us. If we work hard, we'll be fine."

  "There's food here," said Abbi. "We're safer here."

  "I don't think we are," said Rena. "Sooner or later we will make all the needed repairs. It's only a matter of time before they ask us to leave. I've heard things."

  "Gossip and the whisperings of a handful of people," said Julexi. "Magashi likes us. We do more work than most of her crew."

  "Magashi may not have the say for much longer," said Rena. "This is more than idle chatter I'm hearing. It's not safe. I worry for the children."

  "And throwing them to a flock of vultures doesn't worry you?" said Abbi.

  "They're not your children anyway," said Julexi. "They're ours."

  Yes, thought Rena. They're not mine. I gave up my only child. I sent Victor to Luna to warn the world. I have lost him just as I have lost Segundo.

  Aloud she said, "Somos familia. We are family. These children may not have come from my womb, but I love them like my own. Arjuna's family is like that as well. I could sense it. They're familia."