Jo's Journey by S. E. Smith Read Free Book Online Page B

until… until a few weeks ago. Now, I know what it feels like. You are an incredibly brave woman.”
    Jo frowned as she saw the sorrow in Manota ’s eyes. She had seen it numerous times over the last few weeks. Something had happened. Her mind raced through the brief conversations they’d had. She remembered him saying there had been a problem back home. Her eyes widened as she connected what he just told her with the anguish he had tried to hide from her.
    “ Your father?” She asked in a scared voice.
    Manota shook his head. “Father is well,” he responded sadly.
    “ Who? Star…” Her voice shook at the thought of something happening to her little sister or River while she was gone.
    “ Your sister is… as well as can be expected,” he said heavily. “Jazin…” he paused as a muscle ticked in his clenched jaw. “Jazin was killed in an accident while at the Uri Spaceport several weeks ago. It is even more urgent that your parents return with us. Your sister is… she needs her family with her during this time.”
    “ Oh Manota,” Jo whispered in shock before burying her face in his chest, harsh sobs shaking her narrow shoulders. “I’m so sorry. Star… oh god, she must be devastated at losing Jazin.”

Chapter 7
    Jo looked down at the sparkling lights of the city below. She had moved as if in a trance after Manota told her about Jazin’s death. Her heart broke for her little sister. She knew despite everything they had been through, Star was madly in love with Jazin. She had never seen her sister glow the way she did when she talked about him. Even as mad as her sister had been about Jazin sneaking off on some secret mission without telling her, Star still glowed as she described all the things she was going to do to him when he returned. Personally, Jo had thought quite a few of the ideas had some merit to them, especially the ones involving ropes.
    “ Your world is much different from ours,” Manota said as they passed over the cars on the interstate.
    They had left the warship almost thirty minutes before. Manota had explained they had cloaked the warship using a technology that he and Jazin had been working on. They were able to enter the Earth ’s atmosphere and land in one of the many lakes dotting the Orange County, Florida area. They had to factor in finding one that was both large and deep enough to hide the warship and one isolated enough not to be discovered.
    Once they had decided on a spot, it was merely making sure that they didn ’t raise any alarms with air traffic control, the military, or incur any civilian sightings. The warship had submersed itself, settling on the silt-covered bottom of a large lake just west of Kissimmee. After they had determined there were no alarms raised, Manota had taken Jo down to one of the huge cargo areas. It lead to a smaller compartment that Manota explained was used for launching orbital service vehicles. Inside it was a long, sleek wheelless bike surrounded by a clear casing. He explained the clear casing was a submersible shell they would leave hidden once they were top side. They would then use the air bike to get to Jo and Star’s condo.
    “ It is small and fast. We are less likely to be seen than if we used a full size skimmer. It would not be easy to set it atop your condo building or hide from sight. This is more practical. It is very fast and easy to maneuver in tight spaces,” Manota had explained as he helped her onto it.
    He stepped in and sat in front of her, pressing a button he closed the clear hatch. Almost immediately the compartment flooded with water as the outer door opened. Jo had wrapped her arms tightly around Manota ’s waist as he pressed his foot down on the pedal and the air bike shot forward. It was strange traveling under the water. They were almost twenty meters below the surface and it was pitch black except for the wide beam of light in front of them from the air bike. Jo shivered as they swept by the remains of