Synopsis: oneshot. What does being a pirate mean, exactly?
Disclaimer: the animated show "Galactik Football" doesn't belong to me. I'm not making any money with this fic so please, don't sue me.
A Pirate's life
Stephens' point of view
Yesterday, during the training session, one of our new reserve players developed a Flux.
It took us some time to realise what was going on. The girl was the first to be surprised, actually. She kept looking at the red wisps around her fingers and saying: "weird, really weird…" Then we carried on as if nothing had happened. It was not as important as if we had had a Technoïd alert, after all.
After the session, I took the girl apart and told her what it meant for her. She said: "Nothing. I don't mind being a reserve player for your team, but I'd prefer to study and become a spy or a hacker later. Practically everyone in the team is better than me, anyway."
She had a point. She's basically a better-than-average player but she still lacks of speed and reactivity. I can't help wondering what would happen if a more skilled player got this Flux, too. Would he or she make our team win? And what would be the consequences for all Pirates?
We're really an atypical team. Winning matches is not our priority. We just show the Technoid that we are here, we will always be there in the end, we're so much more fair-play, more determined, tougher and cooler than them and we will win eventually because they cannot get rid of us. Sometimes my wife worries when we have to play against teams who are not exactly fair-play, like the Shadows or the Xenons. She says things like: "They may break you something, I prefer when you play against the Lightnings, or the Wambas, or the Snow Kids, at least they're not violent…"
Oh, don't start to think she's a weakling or anything like that. She can be very dangerous when something or someone she cares for is threatened. Anyway, all Pirates are like this. We all lost loves ones because of the Technoïd and we are all ready to do anything to change the world, even though it won't be easy…
I heard that years ago, one of the Snow Kids tried to become a Pirate. Sonny told him rubbish like "being a player for the Akilian team is so much more important…" He didn't mean it, of course. The truth was, Micro-Ice just didn't have the soul of a Pirate. He was not idealistic or willing to change the world; he was not really ready to give up comfort, family, friends, peace, fame… He would have been a lame pirate because he was just thinking of being cool and running away from his problems.
And more serious people tried to join us and gave up later. It's even surprising that sometimes, children are born on Shiloe. When the first female pirate gave birth to a little baby, years ago, we started stealing diapers, baby-bottles, toys, and we also started worrying because another female pirate was already pregnant and willing to keep her child. Now we have a nursery on Shiloe, as well as school, a playground and a small library. We teach our children everything they need to know: reading, writing, hacking a computer, running away from technodroids, flying a Technoid spaceship without the keys and so on. The most difficult thing is explaining them why being a Pirate is so important.
They've been living on the edge since they were born, after all. Some of them had their parents killed or put into jail within their Pirate activities, some thing being a Pirate just means being cool, some wish they could have a "normal life", and some realise how serious this business is. The girl with the Flux was born on Shiloe. I wonder if other Pirate children will develop this Flux later. Maybe we could make a more powerful team, one day… But that wouldn't be the point. And what if one of our children was tempted to use his/her Flux for bad reasons? This is already tempting for players with an ordinary life, so what about Pirates, people who live on the edge and fight for justice? I'm not sure of what I would do if I had a Flux in such situations.
And what if my son got this Flux too? What would I tell him? You cannot decide what kind of people your children will be, after all. All that you can do is raising them, loving them and hoping they will always be able to act with judgment. But maybe he'll want to have everybody's peaceful life, after all. Last year, one of our boys left us, allegedly to go to college and study medicine. When he came back for a visit, he kept complaining about the noise and the lack of comfort. We wouldn't mind having one more doctor here but maybe he'll decide to stay on another planet in the end. Who can blame him?
That's our life. Ask any Pirate why he or she chose to be an outlaw, and he or she will tell you that it was not really a choice. We just had to do something, we were unable to carry on doing as if nothing serious had ever happened… I guess people who choose to become monks may feel the same way. It's not really a choice, it's piracy that chooses you.
I love my life. Fluxes or not, I'll be in the competition for the next Cup. I know I'll be doing the right thing. And the Technoïd will hate it.
The end…