Free The Pirates of Sufiro (Book 1) (Old Star New Earth) by David Lee Summers Page B

for the bug. The spine penetrated her skin. Suki gasped and stood upright, not wanting to yell in pain for fear that it would upset the baby. Firebrandt came and helped remove the insect. Though it was dead, the captain gave it to Roberts for study.
    As the day went on, Suki's eyes glazed over. Her skin turned unnaturally pale. She said she wasn't sure if she could feed the baby. The captain fed the child from a bottle. Out of Suki's earshot, Firebrandt asked if Roberts had analyzed the insect. He said he hadn't, but he would do so immediately. The captain stroked his moustache, worriedly as he watched Roberts limp off to his task. An hour later, Roberts appeared in the door of the mess-turned-dining room. His face was pale. He motioned for Firebrandt.
"How is she doing?" asked Roberts.
    Firebrandt shook his head. "Not well."
"The baby?"
"The baby's just fine." The captain looked down at his feet. Roberts sighed. "That insect had traces of a toxin in it that
could kill an army."
    Firebrandt fell against the wall for support. "Then Suki and the baby?"
"The baby will be fine if her skin wasn't pierced by the spine." Roberts' brow creased. "I wish there was an easy way to say this, but Suki's lucky she's still alive."
A tear trickled down Firebrandt's cheek. He sniffed and wiped it away angrily. "She's in pain. Can't you find an antidote?"
Roberts shook his head sadly. "Our only hope is that it passes out of her system." The two men held each other for several moments. "Go to her, Ellison," said Roberts. "She needs you."
"She needs you, too," said Firebrandt.
"The baby needs someone," said Roberts, choking back a sob.
That night, Firebrandt sat up with Suki, holding her hand. He fought back tears several times. When she slept, he didn't fight, but he kept quiet so as not to disturb her. Shortly after midnight, Suki's eyes opened, she sat up in bed and screamed. Firebrandt ran to her. Her body didn't yield. Every muscle had suddenly contracted, including her heart. Firebrandt put his arms around her. She was still slightly warm from being under the blankets. "Suki!" he yelled. He yelled her name again.
Roberts came running into the room. He examined Suki. There was nothing he could do. The baby began crying from a distant part of the ship. Firebrandt yelled her name again. The baby yelled in response. The captain heard and turned to Roberts. "The baby," he said.
"Aye aye, sir," said Roberts, automatically. He limped out of the room, returning to the child.
Firebrandt held Suki's body for what seemed like hours, gently rocking back and forth. Roberts left him alone for a while. The captain wept openly until Roberts returned and pulled him loose from the body and escorted him back to one of the crew bunks. Roberts helped him in and covered him with a blue woolen blanket. He was too tired to resist and fell asleep quickly, but he slept fitfully; occasionally he awoke and cried into the pillow. He didn't get out of the bed for nearly twenty-six hours.
At last, the captain awoke and was able to calm himself. Clean clothes were hanging by the bunk. He put them on and slowly pulled on a pair of boots. Roberts was in the dining room, rocking the baby in a cradle. His face was drawn, his eyes red. He stood and brought some pastry to the captain. "How is she?" asked Firebrandt indicating the cradle.
"She cries for her mother's milk, but I eventually coax her into taking the bottle, sir," said Roberts. Without looking, he reached out and took a pastry.
"And her mother?" Firebrandt took a bite of pastry. His body was hungry, yet he chewed it slowly.
"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,