Center Moon - The Stone Of Cordova

by Stephen Gambuti

  "Actually, he's older," Jonas rebutted, trying to maintain any sense of dignity.

  Carlen whimpered.

  The beating of the engines overhead grew louder and more intense with every passing moment.

  "Liotta... Let him go."

  Liotta made her way to the rear of the craft. "Promise you won't hurt us once we let you go."

  "I promise. I just want to get us home safely." Kiyo's lips curled up.

  The craft suddenly jolted, sending Liotta into Carlen. The force was so great that it caused the officer's grip to break. Carlen and Liotta went tumbling into the corner.

  Jonas was tossed against the control panel. He glanced through the upper window, noticing the large vessel's steel hull was on top of Jonas's craft.

  Carlen got to his feet. "They are coming in here. I just know it."

  "They aren't coming in here. They are escorting us to their port," the Enforcer said. "That's why I wanted to get out of this contraption. These escort ships do not have any blasters on them. Now let me go."

  "That's right," Liotta remembered. "They are designed to pick up all small crafts in orbit." She dusted her clothes.

  "What do we do now?" Carlen approached Jonas.

  "Nothing. We sneak out once we get to port."

  The Enforcer smacked his free arm against his chair. "Yeah, see, smart ass, we won't get that opportunity. We... uh... look a little different. We will stick out like sore thumbs. I would have pulled us away from this Crow taxi." Then he started to unwrap his bonding straps.

  "Why couldn't you just do that before?" Carlen looked on.

  "'cause I had my hand around your neck."

  "Please, don't make me use this." Jonas cautiously neared the Enforcer. He aimed Darden's tiny blaster directly at his face.

  "Jonas? What are you doing?" Carlen cried.

  "Tie him up, Carlen. Tie him up real good."

  "But, Jonas, he can help us," Liotta pleaded as she attempted to block Jonas.

  Jonas gently nudged Liotta aside. "Quiet. This man was about to kill my cousin. We may have taken him for a ride to the center moon, but we never thought about killing him. Until now." Jonas inched closer.

  The Enforcer stared him down with a stone face. "Put the blaster down, son."

  "Oh, now I'm your son. I don't think so." Jonas returned the stony look. "Tie him up, cousin. Make those bonding straps nice and tight."

  Liotta was not quite sure what to make of Jonas. She couldn't understand this. This hidden dark side was scaring her. "Jonas, please?"

  "Please what? Please let this man turn your father in? Please let this man terminate us?"

  Liotta whipped her long hair around, stomping to the front of the craft.

  Carlen finished securing the officer to a metal beam, which ran vertically along the wall of the craft.

  Jonas lifted his blaster and quickly slammed the butt of his weapon into the side of the officer's head. The Enforcer collapsed along the pole to which he was strapped.

  The craft was towed along the moon's orbit for about five minutes. Jonas and Liotta could tell that they were hovering over the rocky surface. Jonas marveled at the city domes, which housed thousands of dwellings. The illuminated spots along the horizon marked each individual city. Liotta counted thirty-two domes before the space taxi released their craft along the ports runway. At the end of the runway, the largest of all the domes rested. The man made atmosphere had a light blue tint, imitating the Earth's sky.

  "We have arrived." Jonas hopped back into the captain's seat and regained control of the craft.

  "We're here? Jonas? We're really here?" Carlen made his way to the front of the craft.

  "Sit down, cousin. We're heading into port."

  Carlen took the third and final seat in the pilot's area. He glanced back at the officer who was still out cold. Then he stared at Liotta.

  She sat quietly in her chair. Carlen was trying to read her mood. The way she looked at the window was not normal. Her tongue was pressing up against her cheek and her usually full lips appeared thin. He understood she was not sightseeing. She just did not want to be bothered with anyone.

  A red ring lit up around the dome's rim as the convoy of crafts approached. The sliding bay door opened at the dome's base, allowing the line of vessels to enter.

  The craft's landing gear slowly released as the vehicle lowered to the surface. Crow guards came from every corner of the port. They directed the vessel to a landing pad.

  "Whoa." Liotta finally made a sound. You could see the Earth's reflection bouncing off her large, green eyes.

  "Put these on. Quickly." Jonas pulled a few robes from under his seat.

  "Where did you find Republican cloaks?" Carlen asked as he ran his fingers along the fine material.

  "Your dad left them here." Trying to soften Liotta's mood, he added, "He must have known that one day your boyfriend would steal one of his crafts."

  "I don't have a boyfriend," Liotta snapped as she pulled a robe over her.

  "Sorry. Just trying to break the ice a bit."

  "You were about to kill an officer, Jonas. Kidnapping, stealing a ship and landing at an enemy's base are things I can handle. But killing an Enforcer?" Liotta flipped her hair again. "He is one of us."

  "I had to protect Carlen."

  "Whatever." Liotta stood up.

  "I don't need protection." Carlen flipped the robes hood over his head.

  Liotta tied her sash. "What's your plan now, tough guy?"

  "I figured we would wait for the Crows to board, then we would blast them."

  Liotta shook her head. "Oh, that's a great plan." She looked at the officer. "What are we going to do with this gentleman?"

  Jonas got out of his seat and adjusted his robe. "We will use him as a prisoner. Then we will get into the detention area."

  "Well... what if he talks?" Carlen added as he adjusted his hood.

  "I've got a great idea." Liotta turned, staring Jonas right in the eye. "You go find your Darden person and we will stay right here. If you are not back within a certain amount of time, we will leave without you."

  "You'll get killed if the Crows decide to board the craft." Jonas tied his sash and pulled the hood over his head. "We must stick together."

  "What are we going to do about the officer?" Liotta noticed the Enforcer mumbling to himself.

  "I will take care of it." Jonas flipped his blaster out.

  Liotta quickly blocked Jonas from getting any closer.

  Carlen ripped the weapon from Jonas's hand. "I will handle this." He stepped up to the officer and rested the blaster on the man's temple.

  "Carlen? No!" Jonas pushed Liotta aside.

  His cousin gave him a faint look. Jonas could tell he was over the edge. Something snapped.

  "Carlen, please... He's an Enforcer," Liotta pleaded.

  The officer's eyes rolled towards his temples. He was trying to communicate but still did not have the capabilities to put words together.

  "I can protect myself, Jonas... See?"

  "Cousin, relax. I know you can. If you hurt this guy, not only will you get dismissed from the Academy, you will get termination."

  Carlen dropped his head and focused on the floor. He brought the blaster to his side. "Why were you going to kill him?"

  "I wasn't." Jonas walked over to a wall storage container. "I was going to transfer the guy into this." He pulled it open to display a tight cell.

  "Oh." Carlen handed the blaster back to Jonas.

  "You are both insane!" Liotta smacked Carlen in the face. "I can't believe you would even think of killing that man."

  "I... I'm sorry."

  Jonas pushed Carlen. "Get your hoods up and wait for me outside. I will be right with you. Just as soon as I put the Enforcer here away."

  Liotta was relieved. She too thought that Jonas had been about to terminate the officer.

  Carlen fixed up his hood and walked down the ramp.

  "I really think we should have st
ayed right here."

  "Liotta... Please go with Carlen." Jonas handed her the blaster. "Keep this in a safe place."

  ***

  The port was busy. There was a lot of commerce along the docking areas. The place was packed with Crows. It used to be the main military post before the Sapien immigration. With less and less land on Earth, Cordova was quickly becoming a settlement. This port was obviously a place where merchants could hassle customers before they reached their new homes.

  Liotta and Carlen were standing ten feet away from the craft. The good thing about their robes was that almost all the common Crows wore them.

  A robe's style indicated one's social status. Since most Crows were poor, the simple brown robe with a yellow sash was worn often. The sash was the essential accessory. Yellow sashes were always for the civilians or commons. The purples ones exhibited a military class. The Old Republic had a whole line of robes, which displayed the different ranks.

  They were fantastic disguises. There were no voice distinctions between Crows and Sapiens. Just the faces and foreheads were different. Height was not a problem, because Liotta and Carlen were not fully matured yet. Jonas stepped out of the craft wearing the Enforcer's uniform.

  "What the hell are you doing?" Liotta barked.

  Carlen noticed some Crows had already spotted Jonas. He tugged Liotta by the arm before she could be linked to his cousin. "Leave him be."

  "Looks pretty good on me, doesn't it?" Jonas said through tight lips as he winked at Liotta.

  "I get it. I get it. He wants to go to the detention block." Carlen was pleased with his reasoning. "Then he will find Darden."

  "I guess we have to follow him there," Liotta said as she felt around for the hidden blaster.

  Within moments, Republican Guards swarmed around Jonas as he flaunted his stolen uniform. The guards were draped in purple robes with wide black sashes. Patches of gray crescents, which resembled the waning moon, were worn on their right shoulders. They drew silver blasters from inside their cloaks.

  "Looks like you got me." Jonas's smile puffed out his cheeks. His eyes showed the hopes he had of finding Darden.

  "Down to the floor, Sapien." One guard aimed his weapon.

  Jonas nodded in agreement as he slowly went down on his knees.

  An impatient guard landed his boot in the back of Jonas's head to speed up the capture. The smile quickly faded from the teen's face. It was at that point he realized he might have made a bad decision.

  Carlen held onto Liotta's elbow and pulled her back into the onlooking crowd of merchants and commons. A loud rumbling came from around the port's opening. A transport lowered next to Jonas's craft. Carlen tugged on Liotta's sleeve to get her to move further away.

  Five more Republican Guards sprang out from the transport carrying long blasters. They poured into the craft. Only seconds passed before loud bangs were heard, followed by a quick blast.

  Jonas's head whipped in the direction of his craft. He knew in his heart that the officer had been captured or even worse, killed.

  Liotta glanced at Carlen from underneath her hood. They communicated their concerns without a word. She shoved Carlen away from the crowd. Carlen responded by taking her hand and dashing to safety.

  Jonas watched his foolproof plan rapidly crumble. The one thing that put him at ease was that his friends seemed to be safe. The guards arranged Jonas face down on the ground. The dust from the moon did not taste very good. He heard laughing and cheering coming from the craft. While the teen's wrists were being bound, he shifted his bloodshot pupils back towards his ship.

  Three guards walked down the ramp filled with exuberance. Behind them, two more followed, dragging the corpse of their latest trophy.

  His captors swiftly lifted Jonas into the air. The Crows had incredible strength.

  Carlen and Liotta watched helplessly as Jonas was carried into a Republican Transport. Liotta pointed towards the guards. "We have to find a way to follow that craft."

  The transport lifted a meter off the ground. "Looks like we're too late." Carlen tapped Liotta on the shoulder. The craft blended into the horizon.

  ***

  Jonas was headed for Cordova's military colony. The transport was zipping along quickly. It traveled in and out of domes, over craters and halfway across the rock's surface just while they watched. Inside, Jonas was mentally preparing himself for his encounter with his fair weather friend.

  With his hands strapped tightly to the craft's seat, Jonas stared at Kiyo's body, which was wrapped in a foil-like bag. The odor that ran through the vessel confirmed the Enforcer was dead.

  In the front, two guards piloted the craft along Cordova. Jonas noticed they were different from the Crows he'd met on Earth. Their skin was grayish in color. Their eyes were glossy and dark red where their lids met their pupils. Jonas could see the effects on them of living in an artificial atmosphere.

  The craft zipped down an outdoor corridor protected by huge cannon blasters. The horizon had numerous steel domes. In the center sat the tallest of round structures. Huge beams of light grew larger as the structure opened its bay doors. Jonas stretched out far enough to get a lay of the territory.

  The area was familiar to him. It was the side of the moon his father had so often described. In fact, Jonas had such a good mental picture in his head that he could have drawn a map by memory. This was where so many Parliamentary invasions had taken place. He also knew this was not the place where prisoners were held. It was the place where the Emperor resided. This facility was also where the termination process was held.

  The transport trembled. A loud humming sound captured everyone's ears. The usually dark insides of the craft had become so bright that Jonas's eyes hurt until his pupils readjusted. Through the back windows, Jonas watched the bay doors slowly close.

  How are they ever going to find me? He thought about his cousin and Liotta. Maybe I should have listened to Liotta's plan. Jonas could not help but look at the slain officer next to him. He knew his career at the Academy was over. It was completely his fault that Kiyo had lost his life. If he ever returned home, the Council would probably make him pay with his own life.

  Nine

  The transport lowered to touch the ground. The guards inside the dome swiftly left their posts to greet the craft. The ones inside put their hoods back over their heads. Jonas thought this was rather strange. The rear hatch steamed open.

  Jonas noticed a completely different style of uniform. These Crows wore body armor. In the center, they had their black sashes.

  Four guards entered the transport and cuffed the teen's neck with a metal collar. One guard unstrapped Jonas while the other one tugged him as if he were an animal.

  Jonas was not even on his feet when he found himself being dragged down the ramp. "Easy..."

  "Shut up, Sapien." The guard whacked Jonas with the heel of his palm.

  The other two guards hitched a chain to the end of the foil wrap, which covered the dead officer. With one hard jerk, the corpse flipped out of the craft. Jonas was astonished by the monstrous strength these men had.

  They dragged Jonas towards a huge entrance hall at the end of the port. The doorway was heavily protected by a guard station. The guards kicked and spit at Jonas as he was being paraded past them. The guards committed horrible acts to the Enforcer's corpse.

  I can't believe these animals. What have I done? Jonas thought.

  Once past the entranceway, there was a long, gray corridor. Voices of all kinds were heard. They grew louder with every step. Along the way, Jonas discovered doorways without doors, which opened up to small rooms. The guards stopped midway down the corridor and unclipped Jonas's neck cuff. He twisted his head a bit to loosen his stiff neck. Two guards gave him a swift shove into one of the rooms. They laughed a bit and continued down the hall with Kiyo's body.

  Jonas picked himself up off the floor. He brushed off his stolen uniform. Rock dust. He looked around slightly confused. He didn't understand why they
would put him in a room without a lock of some sort. Jonas angled himself so he could see down the hall. No guards around within sight. He inched closer to freedom. He looked the opposite way. No guards there either. Jonas cautiously stepped through the doorway.

  Zap!

  Electrical jolts sprang from every corner of the door. His body danced involuntarily with the high voltage until he was finally thrown to the floor. He remained on his back, lifeless .

  ***

  It was a good hour before Jonas came around to consciousness. His hair was grayed a bit and his skin seemed to have aged a couple of years. His eyes were set back deep in his head surrounded by broken blood vessels. The teen sat up to better orient himself. His attention was on that stupid doorway. He should have known better than that. His father had always told him stories about the Crows' sucker traps. If it looks too good to be true... it is.

  A deranged giggle echoed from the cell across the hall. Jonas rose to feet and limped over to see who thought his pain was so humorous. There sat a little man with his hands over his mouth. He was just chuckling to himself. Jonas could tell that not all the man's facilities were functioning. Something was different about him though. Physically.

  His demeanor exhibited that he could be either a Crow or a Sapien. His forehead was not as thick as the others but still very much dominant. His nose was smaller, more squared than round. All Sapiens had smaller features. The main thing Jonas noticed was the man's hair. It was thick black, sprouting wildly from his head. Yet his arms were bare. Crow head, Sapien arms. Jonas studied the older man until he was caught gazing.

  The man lowered his hands, discovering Jonas with his piercing eyes. "Is my giggle bothering you?"

  "Ah…no." Jonas stepped back, and remembered an electrical door must secure the man as well.

  "Don't run, boy. I won't hurt you. I can't hurt you." The man reenacted Jonas being blasted by the electricity. He fell back with unrestrained laughter.

  Stepping towards the door Jonas snapped, "Think that's funny? Wait till I get outta here. I'll show you funny."

  "Now, now, boy. Relax . I'm only fooling with you."

  Jonas sat down, preparing for a conversation. "Why are you here?"