One of the guards pointed his weapon right at Jonas, then he suddenly flew into the side of the transport. Jonas noticed his back was completely blown out. Another guard approached. Jonas lifted his blaster.
"Jonas, it's me," The familiar voice behind the hood said.
Jonas realized Liotta was alive and well. In fact, she had just saved his life. Jonas went to acknowledge her when Liotta sharply turned right and fired at something or someone Jonas could not see. The sound of screams served as proof that another guard had met his fate.
With a sense of protection, Jonas completely pulled himself out of the transport. "Where's Carlen?"
"Around... somewhere." Liotta's smile gleamed from under her disguise. "He's actually quite brave. I was surprised."
Jonas smiled back at her with a new attitude. He stuck his head into the transport and noticed Leo was still lying lifeless. Tears began to leave clean streaks along his dirty face.
"Jonas?" another familiar voice called.
Jonas wiped his face with the back of his hand. He sniffed in any moisture in his nostrils and turned to greet his cousin. "The plan?"
"Don't worry. Got it all worked out. I think," Carlen said.
"How many more guards are there?" Jonas lifted himself to his feet.
"A couple hiding out here and there. They thought we were with them." Carlen laughed. "You should have seen the looks on their faces when we blew up their ship. They turned to look and we pretended to be just as surprised as they were."
Jonas picked up his weapon and headed over to the huge craft. As he advanced towards it, he cocked the trigger. He was heading over to finish the Emperor.
"Jonas, we gotta get outta here." Carlen watched as his cousin approached the ship.
Liotta blasted two more guards that had been hiding on the other side of the transport.
Jonas ripped open the panel of the huge craft. He raised his weapon. "This is from Captain Troupe." Jonas released his energy, his frustrations and, most of all, his blaster on the remaining fancy guards that clung to life inside the damaged vessel. Jonas continued killing them one at a time, without any sign of emotion.
When the smoke cleared from his rampage, Jonas entered the craft. He investigated every inch of it only to discover that the Emperor was, in fact, not aboard. The cockpit smelled like seared flesh. Two pilots sat slumped in their seats. The front of their bodies were charred from his blaster.
"Jonas?" Carlen signaled it was time to go.
Jonas exited the craft wearing one of the guard's skullcaps. Liotta was waiting for him. "Nice cap." She approached Jonas, flipped her hood back and gently kissed him on his lower lip.
Jonas leaned in to get the fullness of her kiss.
"Jonas?" Carlen's voice interrupted.
"What?" he yelled back at his cousin.
"Come here," the distant voice responded.
"Go ahead." Liotta playfully pushed him backward. "Your cousin needs you."
Jonas followed the location of Carlen's voice to find him by the transport. Carlen had pulled Leo from the wreck. "This man is still alive."
Jonas's face glowed.
"What kind of man is this?" Liotta stood behind Jonas. She was very confused.
"He's a Leo. He's alive." Jonas fell to his knees and draped his arms around his friend. "Thank Gods. Leo? Leo?"
Frustrated that Jonas was hugging this strange man, Liotta leaned down.
"Jonas, who is he? He doesn't look like one of us."
Carlen looked into his cousin's eyes. "He's out cold. He isn't responding but he is still breathing."
"We're taking him with us," Jonas insisted.
Carlen agreed. He knew Jonas would take his head off if he didn't. Both teens lifted Leo off the ground and hauled him through the port. Liotta led the group to a small craft on the outskirts of the bay.
"That's a nice one." Jonas grinned, not letting Carlen see the strain of carrying Leo.
Carlen didn't conceal his weakness. "Got it all ready. Rumors were running around that the guards were impounding our ship." Carlen grunted, "This guy is heavy."
"We found something you might find interesting in our craft. Right where the officer was strapped down." Liotta held up a folded piece of parchment. "It must've fallen out of his pocket."
"We'll look at it later." Jonas focused on getting his friend, Leo, into the craft. It was smaller than their last one. Instead of a ramp leading to an entrance, this one had a hatch that opened along the side. "We will barely fit."
"I didn't know you were bringing company," Carlen snapped defensively as he heaved Leo's top half into the hatch.
"Neither did I," Jonas said apologetically. "But I'm glad I met him." Jonas carefully pushed the rest of Leo's injured body through the hatch.
"Are you gonna read this thing or what?" Liotta waved the paper in the air.
"Let's get home first." Jonas focused on Leo. Liotta pouted and stuck the paper back into her pocket. Jonas smiled at her, realizing he had hurt her feelings. "Sorry."
"Okay... Sure you are." Liotta lifted her head with extreme pride as she climbed into the craft. Jonas was just about to hop in, when Liotta popped her head out of the hole. "If you don't read it, you will be sorry." She whipped her head around as she went back into the craft.
Jonas climbed into the craft. Carlen, who sealed the hatch behind him, quickly followed him. Carlen bent down so as not to hit his head against the ceiling. He tapped Jonas on the shoulder. Jonas was apparently sitting in his chair. "Mind if I fly?"
"You?" Jonas chuckled but did not budge.
"Yes. Me." Carlen leaned into Jonas' chair. "After all, it was me who found this ship, secured it and studied it."
"Ahem." Liotta coughed for some attention.
"Okay fine. She helped me punch in the coordinates," Carlen confessed.
"Aahhhemm!" Liotta rasped again.
"Fine. She stole the ship and brought it in here." Carlen's skin turned red from embarrassment.
Jonas turned to her with an adoring face. "Well, well. I didn't know you were so talented."
Liotta blushed as she always did when Jonas complemented her. She looked away because her face was too easy to read. "My father teaches about small crafts, stupid."
Jonas loved every second of Liotta's denial of her feelings. "Then I think you should fly." Jonas stood up halfway, so as not to hit his head. He shuffled down the tight aisle towards the back. Carlen had an opportunistic look upon his face. "Carlen... I will break your arm." Jonas flashed a quick grin. Then he put his right arm on Liotta's shoulder and waved her out of the back seat with the other.
"Fine." Reluctantly she bent halfway and stepped up to the pilot's chair. She sat in the seat, gripping the controls with a satisfied smile. "Buckle up, boys. We are going for a ride."
"Yahoo!" Jonas shouted.
"Yippee," Carlen added sarcastically.
Jonas fastened Leo in as best he could. The teen reclined the man's backrest as far as it would go. Then Jonas flipped Leo's strap along his waist and clipped the chest harness. There you go, pal.
Liotta pressed an orange button with her index finger. The craft lifted off the ground and rotated toward the bay doors.
"How are we going to get outta here?" Carlen sank in his chair when he noticed the doors would not open.
"Not a problem." Liotta squeezed both triggers on the back of each side of the control handle.
A blast of energy sprang out of the craft that was twice the size of any regular laser. A direct hit blew the steel doors off their huge tracks. Flames created a fiery border around the opening. Liotta pushed the red rectangular button on the right side of the control handle. The small craft's engines illuminated. The ship darted out of the bay and down the moon's runway.
"Slow down," Carlen warned as he clutched onto a steel bar alongside his chair.
"Relax. These little crafts make up in speed for what they don't offer in room," Liotta answered as her eyes glowed with excitement. She looked
over her shoulder to discover Jonas staring at her with two thumbs up.
The ship cruised down the runway. Liotta tightened her grip, pulled the control handle back and the craft shot straight out into Cordova's atmosphere.
Carlen, feeling more at ease, loosened his grip on the bar. "According to my teacher, you have to--"
"I know. I know," Liotta cut him short. "Slingshot back into Earth's ozone."
Carlen twitched and decided he should just remain quiet. He figured the less he said the smarter he seemed.
"Leo's making noises. He's coming around." Jonas was patting his friend on the head.
The craft orbited the moon at half speed as they noticed a huge spotlight out in the distance. The light was so powerful that its beams shot miles out into space. "When we reach that light we throw this baby into full zone. That will set off the chain reaction, which will propel us into the atmosphere at a fifteen degree mark," Liotta described the slingshot effect.
Jonas thought his ears were playing games with him. She is a natural. She's terrific. He forgot about his friend for a moment and kept his attention on what Liotta was doing.
"Oh no." Liotta's excitement faded.
"What? What's happening?" Carlen sat straight up.
Coming in the opposite direction were three Parliamentary fighter crafts. They were racing closer.
Jonas unclipped his straps as he rose in his seat. "Liotta? Dodge them. Get to the light." Jonas knew if she made it to the light, then their ship would reach enormous speed. Enough to escape.
"If I dodge them, our coordinates will be off mark. Then we will have to orbit again." Liotta remained steady on the controls.
The center fighter fired straight across their stolen craft. The blast just missed its target.
"Oh my Gods. Oh my Gods." Carlen began scratching his head as he always did when he grew nervous. "They are going to kill us."
"Get out of here." Liotta shot Carlen a dead stare. "Jonas, would you please switch seats with your cousin?"
Jonas appeared directly behind her. "Thought you'd never ask." He tapped Carlen on the shoulder. "Up. You heard the lady."
Carlen was so willing, he practically rolled out of his chair. He did not want to stand, so he crouched down and made his way to the back.
Jonas hopped into his cousin's seat and connected his straps. "Where are the--"
"Here." Liotta pointed to the weapons controller.
The weapons seemed awkward to Jonas. The controls were different from the other ones. He did not want to say anything to Liotta just yet. Jonas was fine with letting Carlen look foolish, but he was not about to look that way. He explored the numerous options. What's this one do? Jonas lightly pressed a circular purple button. A torpedo blast hurled out of the ship hitting the center fighter. The craft's window was full of flames and debris. "Got it."
"You just blew up one of ours," Carlen claimed.
"Shut up." Jonas kept firing straight out into space.
"What are you doing? The light is coming up," Liotta quipped as she maintained their course.
"Keeping a clear path."
"Once we reach that light we will be moving so fast, we will probably run right into our own blast."
Jonas thought about what Liotta just said and released all the buttons.
The remaining fighters split off and looped around to the rear of the stolen craft. This time they did not give a warning. The closest fighter shot a blast into the rear of the craft. It skimmed the side where the hatch was. Liotta's body jolted. Her forehead hit the main panel. Jonas's face was flung into the side bar that Carlen was holding earlier. Carlen's head whacked the ceiling, knocking him out cold. Leo was still mumbling, unscathed, in his seat.
"Carlen?" Jonas yelled.
Carlen did not respond.
"Carlen? Carlen?" Jonas looked back to see why his cousin was not talking. "I think he's hurt," he stated, looking to Liotta for an answer.
Liotta did not bother to answer. Her mind was too caught up with the upcoming fighter.
Jonas studied her until he realized what she was looking at so intently. "Hold on." He clutched the weapons control and wildly squeezed the triggers. A powerful string of ion beads sprayed the area. One of the blasts connected with the wing of an oncoming fighter. The rest of the Parliamentary ship sharply spun away. The busted wing remained on course. A head-on collision seemed inevitable.
"Oh Gods." Liotta jammed the steering handle straight into the console. The ship's nose lunged at a forty-five degree angle. The wild wing zipped over the stolen craft.
Without missing her mark, Liotta returned the craft on track. The beam of light was just ahead. "That was close."
Jonas slid down in his seat when the craft dipped. He popped up and readjusted himself.
"Hey, Jonas?" Carlen picked himself up, rubbing his head.
Jonas turned, glad to see that his cousin was up off the floor. He burst into laughter when Carlen took his hand away from his head.
"What? What is it?" Carlen stared.
"You look like a Crow." Jonas could not control his emotion. "Your forehead." He put his own hand on his own forehead to show Carlen what he meant.
Liotta broke her concentration for only a moment, to get a glance of Carlen. She pursed her lips, trying to restrain her laughter.
Carlen placed his open palm along his forehead. "Oh great." He felt a huge welt in the center of it that, from Jonas's hysterics, could only mean he really did look like a Crow. He plopped in his seat and made sure to fasten his straps.
The inside of the craft illuminated. Liotta gripped the controls with all the strength her small fingers could muster. She pushed her foot down on the pedals. Less than a second passed when the craft was flung around the moon. The craft moved slightly less than the speed of sound. As it whipped out of Cordova's clutch, the little vessel pierced the Earth's atmosphere at the perfect angle.
The ship's interior basked in the atmosphere's reflective sunlight. Jonas was glad to be back home. He patted Liotta on her back. "Great job."
"Wait till my father gets his hands on me." Liotta's courage shrank. She tried to look at Jonas but her head turned away. "Listen. You can't come back with me." Then she gathered the strength to stare into his eyes. "You can't go to the Academy now either."
"They will never know I killed some of their men." Jonas glanced out the windows admiring the approaching mountains. "Besides, Liotta, I had to do it so we could survive."
"It's more complicated than you think. You have to read the letter."
Jonas's curiosity was piqued. "Well... What did it say?"
"The way I read it... They were planning on assassinating you." Liotta looked toward a valley between some sandy mountain peaks. "There. That's where we'll go."
"Who? Who wants to kill me?" Jonas grabbed her arm. "Where's the paper?"
"Hold on." Liotta tilted her entire body towards the valley while she simultaneously rotated the controls. "Gotta bring us down."
"How does it look now?" Carlen's voice moaned from the back. The craft headed into a field of blue grass and tall weeds.
Jonas quickly looked and chuckled. "You look fine, Darden. I mean Carlen." He snickered again.
"Very funny. Ha-ha." Carlen tipped his head toward Leo, who was slowly coming around but still not speaking. He got a good look at Leo's features. He touched his own forehead. "Just great."
The craft hovered over a grassy area. The landing gear sprang out along with jets of steam. It settled on top of the long blades of grass, ending the voyage.
"I can't believe my mother is going to see me like this," Carlen whined.
"Where's the letter?" Jonas returned to the topic.
"In my pocket. Hold on." Liotta reached under her robe and pulled out the parchment. Jonas went to grab for it but she teased it back. "Promise me you'll be okay with it. Remember. I do not know who left it. The Crows or the Enforcer."
"Promise." Jonas reached out, grasping the letter. He whipped it
open, finding an unorganized group of symbols. He nodded his head confidently. The more he stared at it, the more organized it became. The writing style was similar to the symbols on the walls in the prison. He could definitely make out the 'kill' symbol, which was a stick figure standing over another one that was lying down below it. The other symbol meant boy. It was a circle with a line under it. "It's from the Crows. It looks like they planned on killing me all right."
Liotta placed her hand on his back. "Listen to me..." She began rubbing. "The Crows had no idea you were on that craft."
The accusation Liotta made about the Enforcer penetrated his young mind. Jonas could not conceive the idea that the Parliamentary Council would want to kill him and had killed his parents. Then an idea hit him. He would need to wait for Leo to feel better. He would be able to help him read this letter. He was certain the Crows had written it. However, Liotta was right. The Crows had no idea he was on that craft.
Jonas wondered if Darden had told him the truth. All his life, Jonas looked up to his father. Everything he thought he knew was becoming a lie.
***
At least a half-day had passed. The craft was now rolled into the brush and covered with sticks and leaves. Leo pointed out the best place to land the craft in order to get close to Strom.
Liotta took off her Crow garb and stuffed it into the vessel. Carlen was adding a few last touches to the camouflaged ship. "Carlen?"
Carlen turned to her.
"What do we do? You and me?" Liotta could not believe she was actually seeking his advice.
"We go home. As awful as that sounds, our parents are worried about us." He stared at Jonas who was kneeling in front of his half-breed friend. "My cousin will have to sort this thing out for himself now."
Liotta tilted her head downward. "Leo doesn't think that letter was written by Crows either. He said the lines are too perfect. Do you think Jonas will be okay?"
"He will do fine. He always has. Let's go say good bye and get home." Carlen gently swept her towards Jonas and Leo.
"So you guys are really taking off?" Jonas stared at Liotta. "Well, I will be in touch with you as soon as I settle." He stood up, facing them.
Center Moon - The Stone Of Cordova Page 12
